


Adventure of a Lifetime (College AU)

by haikyuuliberos, Trashcan_Kitty



Series: The College Life [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Bad Decisions, College, College Parties, Exams, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Injury, M/M, Original Character(s), Other, Roommates, Underage Drinking, Vomiting, lots of it sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-05-31 00:00:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 59,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6447367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haikyuuliberos/pseuds/haikyuuliberos, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trashcan_Kitty/pseuds/Trashcan_Kitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I guess I’ll get it,” Daichi mumbled, standing up and walking over.  He opened the door to find nobody there, but saw a note stuck to the door.  He took it off, everyone watching in anticipation, as he read it.  “It’s a noise complaint.”</p><p> </p><p>  <i> alternatively, the College AU where some of the captains end up at the same school. </i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Expect the Unexpected

“What do you mean,” Daichi began, his tone slightly annoyed.  “That you only have a 2 bedroom apartment left?  There isn’t anything else?”

“I’m sorry,” the landlord shrugged.  “The apartments around here fill up extremely quickly, and that’s the only one we have left.  You’re a student, though, so I can give you the discount.”

“The rent is still _way_ too high for me to pay all by myself, though,” Daichi ran a hand through his hair.

“Look,” the landlord held his hands up.  “I don’t normally do this, but I’ll give you three weeks to find other roommates, and until then, I’ll only charge you for a single bedroom.”

“Really?” Daichi raised his eyebrows.  “That would be… wow, that’d be great.  I’ll find others quickly, thank you very much, Himura-san.”

“Three weeks, Sawamura-kun,” Himura handed over a key to the first-year college student.  “Have them check in with me if they accept.”

“I will, thank you very much,” Daichi bowed politely and exited the small office.  The apartment complex was relatively nice, and there were tons of students bustling around the lobby.  Daichi looked at the key: _433._ That meant fourth floor, and then he would find the room from there.

Daichi got onto the elevator, going through his mind of who was at University of Tokyo.  Asahi had gone to the International University of Japan, while Suga had made a bold decision to go to America for college.  Daichi looked down, missing his friends, but took a deep breath and stood straighter, knowing this is what he got for accepting to play volleyball in college.

University of Tokyo had a good volleyball program and, after they had gone to the Spring Tournament, Daichi had been bombarded with emails from college recruiters.  Rather than regret not doing it, Daichi accepted playing as a pin-hitter and defensive specialist at UT (University of Tokyo), and was supported by the whole of Karasuno.

He got to his room and, sticking the key in the door, opened it up easily.  There was a large dining table with chairs around it, and a kitchen to the right of it with a fridge, oven, microwave, dishwasher, and more.  Behind the “food” area was the living room.  There was a decent-sized TV against the wall and, for some odd reason, only one large couch, and after messing around with it, realized it was a pull-out.

There were two hallways on opposite sides of the living room, leading to a room each (that both had to share a bathroom).  The rooms were actually decent-sized and had two beds each in it, and the bathroom were functional enough.  Daichi put his stuff in one of the bedrooms and got out his computer, immediately making a flyer.

_Looking to stay off of campus?  Contact Sawamura Daichi at sawamurad@ut.edu or visit Room 433._

_2 bedroom_  
2 _bath_  
_Kitchen area, dining area, and living room_  
_24,000 yen per month (per person)_

He finished it quickly and printed out a few in the lobby of the apartment, running down and hanging one up on the main floor and then spending around an hour hanging them up around campus.

He had gotten there two weeks before schools started and one week before volleyball practices started because he was pretty nervous and wanted to get into a routine.  He and his parents had talked out and he decided to stay in an apartment because it was a 5 minute walk from the apartment complexes to get to the Education-major buildings than if he stayed in the first-year dorms (a 30 minute walk every day).

Daichi couldn’t help but wonder in the back of his mind if he had made the right choice, though.

 

* * *

 

 

A few days had gone by with no emails or visits to the apartment room, and Daichi was starting to get anxious.  He was convinced he could, but _what if he couldn’t find other roommates?_   He would have to try to pay a 120,000 yen rent _per month._ Or live in the crappy dorms, which wasn't all too appealing.

He was in his room, finally organizing the last of his belongings.  He had gotten accustomed to the lonely apartment, and even though he would’ve loved to live by himself in the giant space, it just wasn’t financially possible for a jobless college student.

Daichi was putting his toiletries in some cabinets when a loud knock sounded from the door.  Excitement built up in chest as he walked over to the door, opening it with a smile.  Even though he didn’t mean for it, Daichi’s smile disappeared in a second and the young man’s jaw dropped when he saw the habitant of the room.

“Oi… Oikawa?” Daichi stuttered.

“Sawamura!  I didn’t know you were coming to this university,” Oikawa’s face twisted with confusion.  “Let alone that I would be coming to ask for details about rooming.  I didn’t look at the name on the sign.”

“Yeah, um, I did not expect this,” Daichi chuckled.  “If you want to room here, though, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Great!  Because I can’t find a goddamn apartment and the dorms are shit,” Oikawa grinned.  “When can I move in?”

“As soon as you talk to the landlord, Himura-san,” Daichi responded.  “Just explain to him that you’re one of the people I found for a roommate.  But, are you... _sure_?”

“Sounds great!  And _of course_ I'm sure, it'll be fun!” Oikawa threw up peace signs and was gone as quickly as he showed up, leaving Daichi by himself and perplexed.  While he didn't really know Oikawa as a person, how would it  _not_ be awkward to room with one of his high school rivals?

_Well,_ Daichi thought, turning around.   _I guess I'll find out._

Daichi found out at the nice, early hour of 5:00 in the morning, the following day, when he was woken up by the sound of singing and loud thumping.  Groggily, he walked out of his room to see Oikawa dragging his _numerous_ suitcases and other things Daichi was too tired to process.

“How much sh… stuff do you have?” Daichi asked, rubbing his eyes as he interrupted Oikawa’s awful singing.

“Oh, this is the second-to-last load,” Oikawa replied with a grin.  Daichi groaned and walked out into the hallway, dragging in the remaining belongings to make things go by faster. 

“And why are you doing this at... 5:04?”

“The early bird gets the worm!  You should know that.”  Oikawa, with the turn of his head, picked up where he left off in the song and hoisted all his belongings to the other bedroom.  With a sigh, Daichi returned to his room and fell onto the bed, falling back asleep fairly quickly.

 

* * *

 

Daichi was woken up again at 10:30ish, bickering coming from the main area.  Who could be bickering in his private apartment?  _Oh, well, Oikawa, but who was the other person?_

Getting up and attempting to pat his hair down, he walked into the main room to see Oikawa arguing with a very tall person.

“No!  Absolutely not-“

“Oh, there is Sawamura,” the deep voice said, and the figure walked past Oikawa, who had his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face.  Daichi almost smacked his forehead when he saw who it was.  Ushijima Wakatoshi.

“Well, this is just becoming a volleyball reunion, isn’t it now?” Daichi joked.  “I’m assuming you want to room here?”

“Yes,” Ushijima nodded his head.

"Absolutely not!"

“Okay, I just woke up let’s not flip a sh… let’s not over-exaggerate now,” Daichi tried to settle the two down.  “Well, aren’t you both playing here anyways?”  Ushijima simply nodded his head, while Oikawa went for the overdramatic jaw-drop and wide eyes.

“I didn’t even _think_ about you when I got accepted,” Oikawa snorted.

“I thought you might be attending this school as well when I made my decision," Ushijima said.

"Wait a minute, you-"

“Alright, alright!” Daichi snapped, the two looking at him.  “Well I am too, and frankly, I’m surprised that you two are playing here as well.  Honestly, I shouldn't be.  But we’ll be in the gym in a few days or so anyways, so we might as well learn how to get along now.”

“Daichi-san, you’re playing here?” Oikawa gasped.

“Don’t act so surprised, I’ll be passing balls to you just fine,” Daichi smirked, more bold than usual.  Oikawa's eyes glimmered at the sass in his tone, while Ushijima just blinked.

“Well, I guess if you’re going to be setting to the ace, we must learn how to get along,” Ushijima shrugged.

“What?!” Oikawa screeched.

“Okay, okay!” Daichi raised his hands.  “Ushijima, are you going to room here?”

“If that is alright with you.”

“Okay, you’ll have to go talk to the landlord,” Daichi explained.  “So I suggest heading down there.”

“Alright.  Thank you,” Ushijima waved at the two, walking out of the apartment.  As soon as the door closed, Oikawa’s head snapped over to face Daichi.

“You’re going to let him room with us?!”

“You want to pay a 60,000 yen rent?” Daichi countered, walking over to the kitchen and grabbing a bowl and some cereal.

“Of course not – “

“Then we’ll let him room with us,” Daichi poured the cereal, spilling a few flakes on the counter.  “And he’s going to be our teammate anyways, so you’ll have to suck it up.”

“But he’s annoying, and stubborn, and _so_ arrogant-“

“You’re not?”

“That’s not nice!  You sound just like Iwa-chan!” Oikawa complained as Daichi shook his head, wandering over to the dining table to eat his breakfast.

Later in the day, Ushijima returned, with a few suitcases and a giant duffel bag.  Daichi welcomed him into the apartment, whilst Oikawa sat on the couch, pouting, as he skyped Iwaizumi, whom was also attending International University of Japan.  Daichi had asked him to do it in his room, but Oikawa made up 10 excuses and Daichi just walked away.

Ushijima walked into Daichi’s formerly private room before raising his eyebrows.  “Oh, I can room with Oikawa if you’d like.”

“No, it’s fine,” Daichi waved his hand.  “Oikawa would probably make up a billion complaints or something anyways.”

“What do you think of him?” Ushijima asked as he knelt down to unpack his things.

“He’s definitely a great setter, but his personality is… _interesting_ ,” Daichi laughed his deep, hearty laugh.

“I agree.  His skill is much better than his personality.” the left-handed player nodded his head.  “He should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa.”

“I heard that!” Oikawa’s voice yelled from the living room, and the two others responded with more laughter.  “Oh, Iwa-chan, I have to go.  I’m getting a phone call.  Talk to you later!”  Daichi asked Ushijima some more questions about his summer and the later half of his third year, only receiving short answers.  Oikawa suddenly burst into the room, interrupting their limited conversation.  “Yeah, he’s right here!”

“Who is it?” Daichi asked as Oikawa tossed his phone.  Daichi managed to catch the projectile, and Ushijima muttered, ‘good reflexes.'

“Bokuto Koutarou!  He needs a place to stay for a while,” Oikawa replied.

“Hello?” Daichi responded, before suddenly lifting the phone away from his face as the former Fukurodani player yelled through the phone.

“Hey, hey, hey!  How are you, crow-captain?” Bokuto greeted.

“I’m good, how are you?” Daichi sat down on his bed.

“I’m just great,” Bokuto replied.  “So I heard that you have an apartment, and you’re looking for roommates?”

“That is... correct.”

“Now, I don’t know if it’s permanent, but would you be willing to let yours truly stay for a while?” Bokuto requested.

“If you pay the monthly rent for as long you’ll stay for,” Daichi responded.

“Great!” Bokuto cheered, nearly bursting Daichi’s eardrum.  “So who do I meet with?”

“Meet with the landlord of the apartment and talk to him and stuff,” Daichi explained the process for the third time.

“Alright, sounds great.  I’ll probably be there around 6, if you don’t mind,” Daichi looked at the clock, as it was already 4:35.  _I doubt it…_

“That’s fine,” Sawamura said.  The two hung up and Daichi tossed Oikawa’s phone back to him.  “At least we have enough people, now.”

“Like one big happy family!” Oikawa beamed, before turning to Ushijima.  “Except for you.”

“Oikawa!” Daichi scolded before the two others began to bicker.  He left the two, in _his_ and Ushijima’s bedroom, and walked to the kitchen to order takeout.

 

* * *

 

At the nice, late hour of 12:41, Bokuto Koutarou walked into the living room area of the apartment, waking up everyone because he couldn’t be quiet to save his life.  He yelled loudly, jolting Daichi awake from his sleep.  Ushijima was sitting up too, his hazel-green hair messy from sleep.  Daichi, rolling his eyes even though they weren’t visible in the darkness, got up and walked into the living room.  He had to shield his eyes from the bright light, literally every single light being turned on.

“Hey, hey!” Bokuto greeted loudly, grabbing a 2-liter of soda from the fridge and bringing it to his lips.  Daichi exhaled and closed his eyes, not even a _little_ bit surprised at Bokuto’s manners - or lack thereof.

“Hey, Bokuto,” Daichi rubbed his eyes.  “We are all going to bed, so… yeah.  You’ll be with Oikawa, in that room.”  The tired captain pointed to the opposite room, where Oikawa was peeking out, his hair ruffled and a sharp contrast from his perfectly brushed locks.

“Good morning, Oikawa,” Bokuto greeted after he drank his fill.  Like an animal, he screwed the cap back on and placed the drink back in the fridge, grabbing too many half-open boxes and suitcases.  Daichi shook his head and returned to the bedroom.

“Bokuto, I thought you were supposed to be here at 6?” Oikawa’s voice was muffled from the other room.

“I was, because I met with the landlord at 5, but a friend invited me to hang out,” Bokuto’s loud voice boomed through the walls.  “We drank a bit, so I’m a little tipsy!”

 

"Did you drive here... 'a little bit tipsy?'" Daichi asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Maybe?"

"No more of that!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys like this! I had a TON of fun writing it and I'm highkey about this AU so stay tuned!


	2. Last But Not Least

When Daichi woke up, he was the third up (which was slightly surprising to him).  Ushijima was gone, but Oikawa said that he went for a run (“Why must he be so goddamn fit?”).  Oikawa was reading a book and eating cereal at the island of the kitchen.  Daichi grabbed a different cereal and poured it out before walking over to the table.  He opened up one of his notebooks, still on the table from the other day, and began writing his notes down.

“Daichi, why are you taking notes?  School hasn’t even started,” Oikawa asked, turning around in his chair.

“I’m trying to get ahead, so I actually understand the material before I get to class,” Daichi explained, scribbling down a few words.

“That’s a good idea, but I’ll be fine.  I’m still pissed that I need to take _biology_ and _physics_ before I can take my space classes, though!”

“Well, you need some background understanding.”

“I _know_ everything!”

“I’m sure you do,” Daichi shook his head, before eating a spoonful of cereal.  “We need to go out and buy some real food.”

“Yeah, we can do that later today,” Oikawa suggested.

“Sounds good.  I think there’s a ‘Food-Mart’ a few minutes away.”  The two continued eating in silence, but the serenity of the morning was broken soon after.

“I have the worst headache EVER,” Bokuto complained, grabbing a carton of milk out of the fridge.

“Bokuto, please – “ Daichi stopped speaking as the gray/black haired man (who’s hair was all matted and covering his forehead) ignored him and drank right from the carton.  “Grab a glass.”

“That’s Bokuto’s milk now,” Oikawa remarked, not even glancing up from his book.

“God, that shit is _good_ ,” Bokuto shook his head, putting the milk back in the fridge.  “What’s up roomies?”

“Nothing much,” Daichi responded, tearing a piece of paper out from his notebook.  “We’re going to the store to pick a few things up later, so you can write a list down for what you need.”

“Or… I can come with you!” Bokuto jumped up and down, despite his slight hangover.  The door burst open and Ushijima walked in, breathing heavily and sweaty.  “Wait, Ushiwaka is staying here?!”

“Yes,” Ushijima replied, pulling his headphones out of his ears.  “Nice to see you again, Bokuto.”

“And you, too!” Bokuto leapt over and shook his hand aggressively before bringing him into a hug, Ushijima’s face displaying sheer surprise.  Oikawa snickered from behind, and Daichi bit the inside of his cheek.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Ushijima said, monotone, after Bokuto let go.

“Can you write down things you need us to pick up for you first?  We are going to go to the store,” Daichi explained.

“Oh, yeah, sure.”  Ushijima grabbed the pencil and was about to write, before being interrupted.

“Like I said, we can all just go together!” Bokuto declared.

“I… if someone has a car, I guess,” Daichi shrugged, even though four college guys in the store would be kind of a mess.

“I got the car!" Bokuto pumped his fist.

"Are you hungover?" 

"Nope!"

Ushijima added his own two-sense, "The best cure for a hangover is to drink plenty of water-"

“If we’re going to the store, let’s plan for 1:00,” Oikawa interrupted everyone.

“Sure.”

“Okay.”

“Sounds great!"

 

* * *

 

Daichi had never really called himself religious; maybe there was a higher power, maybe not.  But Bokuto's driving had Daichi secretly praying to whatever was out there to _keep me safe and please, please just let me live._

Bokuto kept getting distracted, and if it weren’t for Daichi yelling at him to keep his eyes on the road, they probably would’ve crashed into twenty cars, multiple streetlights, or worse, pedestrians.  He turned too sharply and quickly, and he blew through a few stop signs (“Oh, sorry!  Didn’t see it!”).

“Let me just say, never again,” Oikawa practically fell out of the car, and Ushijima looked a little green in the face.

“Yeah, Bokuto, you might want to get retested,” Daichi admitted.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Bokuto waved his hand.  The group walked into the store, grabbing two shopping carts.

“Bokuto and I can grab produce and healthy stuff, and you two can get other necessities?” Daichi suggested, gesturing towards Ushiwaka and Oikawa.  The latter was pouting, but Ushijima nodded his head; the two groups split up.

“Daichi, why don’t we head down there?” Bokuto grabbed the other’s arm, pointing towards the junk food aisle.

“Because we’re athletes and need to eat healthy,” Daichi replied, grabbing a large assortment of fruits and vegetables.

“Aw, but come one!”

“Do you want to do well in a game, or do you want to hold back vomit because you ate three doughnuts before a match?”

“Doughnuts sound _so_ good right now.”

“Oh my god,” Daichi shook his head, grabbing some meat-products. 

“Okay, I’m going to go grab some Gatorade, so I’ll be back.”  Bokuto dashed off, and Daichi wasn’t so sure that he was actually grabbing Gatorade.  He wandered throughout the aisles, occasionally grabbing some other things (bread, pasta, rice, etc.) until the cart was nearly fully and he was satisfied.  He heard unmistakable bickering and rounded the corner to another aisle, seeing Oikawa and Ushijima fighting over cans of soup.

“No, _this_ brand is better!  There’s more flavor!”

“But _this_ one is still good and not as expensive!” Ushijima retorted.  The two continued back and forth until they stopped, both turning towards an unamused Daichi.

“Let’s _try_ to act our age,” Daichi reprimanded.  Suddenly, Bokuto came flying around the corner, his arms _filled_ with all sorts of unhealthy food.  Doughnuts, cookies, chips, and so much more was almost falling out of his arms as he threw it into the cart.

“ _That’s_ what I’m talking about,” Bokuto grinned.

“If you’re buying it all,” Ushijima looked at it all skeptically.

“Ugh!”

“I’m paying this time, but we’ll take turns,” Daichi explained.  The three others sighed with relief as they began to walk towards the checkout, Sawamura trying to persuade Bokuto to take some of the junk food out.  The spikey-haired hitter refused.

After paying for their total and walking out of the store, many bags in each person’s hands, Bokuto’s phone started ringing.  He managed to dig it out of his pocket and not drop the bags of food (Daichi gave him the junk food in case he _did_ drop it), and brought the device to his ear.

“Hello?  Hey, Kuroo!” everyone universally groaned once they heard who it was.  “What’s up, my brotha?  Wait… what?  You’re coming to UT?!  I thought you were undecided?  You little shit!”

They all pieced the conversation together quickly: Kuroo was coming to University of Tokyo after forgetting to turn in his applications (he had to go through a long process of talking to counselors and deans).  And he was going to be playing volleyball, too.

“Bro!  I would say we should get an apartment, but they’re all taken and I’m staying with some other people.  Who?  It’s actually the funniest thing!  Oikawa, Ushiwaka, and Papa Crow!”  Daichi made a face at the nickname as the group began to get in the car.

“No, no, no,” Oikawa shook his head.  “I am not letting _him_ drive while he’s on the phone.”

“Me neither,” Daichi replied.  “Bokuto get off your phone or someone else will drive!”

“But it’s Kuroo!” Bokuto held the phone away from his mouth.

“I’ll drive,” Ushijima volunteered.  They all shrugged and Bokuto sat in the passenger seat, talking too loudly to Bokuto.  The drive wasn’t as bad as Bokuto’s (nothing would probably be as bad as Bokuto’s driving, after their experience), but it was super-fast.  He went about 15 kph over the speed limit and didn’t even slow down for turns, and Oikawa and Daichi got thrown onto each other numerous times as Daichi cringed, wondering what kind of shape the food would be in by the time they got back to the apartment complex.

Bokuto was still on the phone as the group returned to their apartment, basically dropping the bags in the kitchen.  Sighing because this is what he expected, Daichi grabbed everything and started putting produce/meat in the fridge, all the junk food and non-perishables in cabinets, and the tubs of ice cream (that he didn’t remember Bokuto grabbing) in the freezer.

After the whole fiasco, he grabbed an apple and sat on the couch, eating it while flipping through the channels on TV.  Bokuto came out from his and Oikawa’s room, looking quieter than usual.

“Daichi, can Kuroo talk to you?”

“Sure…?” Daichi tilted his head, taking the phone from the uniquely-hair-colored hitter.  “Kuroo?”

“Hey!” Kuroo’s voice burst through the phone, though not as loud as Bokuto.

“What’s going on?”

“Yo, Bokuto said that you guys are already completely full,” Kuroo began, and Daichi knew what was coming.  “But can I crash there?  I have nowhere to stay, and practice begins in two days, and the dorms are full…”

“If you can pay the rent you can stay,” Daichi replied, leaning on the armrest of the couch.  “There’s only four beds, though, so you’ll have to sleep on the pullout until we figure something out.”

“That’s fine, we’ll make it work!” the middle said through the phone.  “Thanks, bro.”

“No problem.  You’ll have to meet with the landlord and get a key and stuff, but that’s basically it.  Bokuto can give you the address.”  The former-Karasuno player handed the phone back to Bokuto, who continued to chat with Bokuto, and screeches of laughter could be heard from his and Oikawa’s room.  A few moments later, unsurprisingly, Oikawa left the room and flopped onto the couch in alien pajamas, right where Daichi was sitting moments ago.

“I’m going to skype Iwa-chan!” Oikawa yelled joyfully, setting up his laptop.  Ushijima groaned quietly from the dining room table, where he was watching volleyball videos on Youtube.

“I’ll be in our room,” Daichi said to nobody in particular, closing the door once he got in.  He pulled out his phone and texted an all-too familiar number.

**_To: Suga :)_ **

**_Hey!  My roommates are a handful… good lord what did I do to deserve this.  Miss you a lot, can’t wait to see you again. <3_ **

He sent it, and couldn’t help but feel a little sad.  At least Oikawa could skype Iwaizumi because they were in the same time zone, but the time difference between Suga and Daichi was too far to skype or talk on the phone without depriving the other of sleep.

He smiled wearily before turning his phone off, digging out his textbooks and aimlessly flipping through the pages.

\---

Daichi came out of his room to make himself some dinner, making rice with chicken and vegetables.  He was sitting at the dining table, eating by himself, when Oikawa, Ushijima, and Bokuto joined him after making their own dinners (Bokuto was eating ice cream, though, which doesn’t really count as dinner).

“Bokuto, when was the last time you actually had something good to eat?” Oikawa asked.

“I don’t know,” Bokuto tilted his head in thought.  “I just snack continuously so I don’t get hungry.”

“Great idea,” Ushijima sarcastically added.

“Sarcasm?  From Ushiwaka?!” Bokuto fake gasped, falling out of his chair.  Everyone else stared at him in surprise, but he sat back up quickly and spooned a massive pile of ice cream into his mouth. 

“When is Kuroo supposed to come?” Daichi asked.  “Because we’re gonna have a hard time figuring out where to put his belongings and stuff.”

“He said he’d probably be here around – “Suddenly, the door knob twisted and Kuroo stood in the doorway, his shit-eating grin plastered onto his face.  “Speak of the devil!  What’s up, bro?”

“Look at that son of a bitch!” Kuroo yelled, and Bokuto jumped into his friend’s arms.

“It’s been… months… years,” Bokuto dramatically shouted.  “Too long!”

“It’s probably been 3 days,” Daichi rolled his eyes at the two’s immaturity.  “Welcome to our humble abode, Kuroo.”

“Ay, thanks again, Papa Crow!” Kuroo gave the other captain a thumbs up, dropping Bokuto.  They chattered unnaturally quickly, their topics ranging from animals (“horses are so dope, bro”) and skyscrapers (“do you think that skyscrapers are called that because they _scrape the sky?”)_   The other three people were left sitting at the table, their mouths wide open at the duo’s oddness.   

“Now we have another one,” Ushijima shook his head.  “This was a bad idea.”

“I hate to say it,” Oikawa said with a mouthful of rice.  “But I agree.”

“I’m having doubts, too,” Daichi disclosed.  Suddenly, weird screeching was heard and Bokuto appeared from his and Oikawa’s room holding a console up.

“Kuroo brought his Wii!” he shrieked, dancing around.

“Bro, don’t drop it!” Kuroo bellowed.  It was followed by the two running around the apartment, nearly knocking Ushijima out of his chair and flipping the coffee table.

“Well, damn,” Oikawa swore.

“We should have a swear jar,” Daichi shook his head.

“FUCK NO!” Kuroo and Bokuto thundered in unison.

“I’m getting a jar as soon as possible.”

After the rambunctious dinner and helping Kuroo settle into the apartment (he kept his things with Bokuto’s), Daichi sat down on the couch and tilted his head back.  Even though it was crazy and loud, it was actually kind of fun to be with all these guys, fellow captains from high school volleyball.  With such different personalities (aside from Bokuto and Kuroo since they were basically the same), it would probably be a mess, but a funny one at that.

Oikawa plopped down on the couch, obviously taking pictures of Daichi and sending snapchats to people.  “Daichi, smile!”  Daichi rolled his eyes, and Oikawa snapped a picture at that moment.  He burst out with laughter, and said “I’m _totally_ posting this on my story.”

Ushijima sat on the other side of Oikawa, swiping Oikawa’s book off the coffee table.  “ _The Perks of Being a Wallflower_?  Oikawa, do you realize you’re basically the opposite of a wallflower?”

“Shut up!”

Suddenly, Bokuto flew in from nowhere and bellyflopped onto the couch (everyone’s laps), as they grunted in annoyance, and he snatched a Wii remote, turning the console on from the device in his hand.  “Let’s play MarioKart!”

“Yes!” Kuroo’s voice sounded from behind everyone as he rolled on the top of the couch and fell over, his body behind everyone’s backs.

“There’s 5 people though, idiots,” Oikawa scoffed.

“I don’t know how to play nor do I want to,” Ushijima put his hands up.

“What a shame,” Bokuto shook his heads.  “But at least it works out for the rest of us!”

10 minutes later, the five of them were sitting on the couch, three of them screaming at the TV screen as the small cars raced on the screen: Oikawa in first, Bokuto in third, and Kuroo in fifth, and Daichi in seventh.  Ushijima watched, actually amused, as they all raced.  Daichi shook his head at the other three, Oikawa’s immature side coming out thanks to the other two.All three were profusely swearing, and Daichi was dead-set on getting a swear jar.  Suddenly, a knock sounded from the door, and they all paused, looking at one another.

“I guess I’ll get it,” Daichi mumbled, standing up and walking over.  He opened the door to find nobody there, but saw a note stuck to the door.  He took it off, everyone watching in anticipation, as he read it.  “It’s a noise complaint.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooo i totally forgot to tell ya'll this last chapter but i'll be updating this once a week! :)  
> I hope you guys liked this chapter... all the guys finally starting to fit into the book!  
> I would like to give a shoutout to @Trashcan_Kitty for helping me with character designs (some new characters show up in the coming chapters) and she has literally saved me okay  
> so comment down below what you're thinking with these dorks bc i love them too much omg
> 
> scream w/ me about the children at haikyuuliberos.tumblr.com !


	3. Rules Are Rules

It was one week since all 5 of the guys had been living together.  It was chaotic and busy, but they managed to work things out every day, whether it was between arguments or sharing bathrooms.  Practices had started as well, and they were all beginning to mesh together as a team (as well as with the other players they hadn’t met before). 

However, Daichi was afraid they were going to get another noise complaint; he was surprised they hadn’t gotten another since then, because Bokuto and Kuroo (along with Oikawa on occasion) could get very loud, especially when it was late at night.  So, Daichi took it upon himself to set up some rules.

“Okay, guys,” Daichi yelled throughout the apartment.  “Come into the dining room for a sec.”  Everyone made their way in there, Bokuto being the last one.

“What’s up?” Oikawa raised an eyebrow.

“So,” Daichi began.  “Since I’m the original resident and the one who turns in the bill every month, I’ve taken it upon myself to set up some ‘house’ rules.”

“Rules are for _losers_ ,” Bokuto scoffed.

“Rules are for those who don’t want to be evicted,” Daichi responded dead-pan.  Everyone’s heads turned to Bokuto who sat still for a moment before nodding his head slowly.  “That’s what I thought.  So anyways, for starters, we can’t yell across the entire house after 7:00 because… just because.”

“Great reason!” Kuroo sarcastically applauded, Oikawa and Bokuto joining in.

“Okay,” Daichi rolled his eyes.  “And, because our language is particularly awful, I’ve set up a swear jar.”  He held up a large mason jar with a piece of paper taped to it, with _Swear Jar_ written on it.  “After every month, we’ll empty it and it’ll go towards buying groceries. Thanks in advance, Bokuto and Kuroo.”

“Well, shit,” Bokuto dug in his pocket and stuck 200 yen in the jar.  Kuroo burst out laughing and tilted on the legs of the chair, almost falling.

“Next, on our long list, if you bring someone back to the apartment and plan on doing _stuff_ with them, just grab a room.  Either room, preferably yours, unless someone is sleeping in it.  If all the bedrooms have sleeping people in them, save the sex for another time,” Daichi sighed.  “I never thought I would have to talk about that, but I can see some bad stuff happening.”

“Nah, because Iwa-chan and I-“

“NO!” Bokuto, and Kuroo all yelled, while Ushijima settled with a frown.

“Please, please don’t,” Daichi brought his hand to his head.  “Okay, so the couch.  For now, Kuroo’s been sleeping on it-“

“And my back is telling me that it’s shit,” Kuroo said.  “Ah, fuck.  Oh, not again.”  He grabbed 400 yen and put it in the swear jar, amidst everyone else’s cackling.

“But from now on,” Daichi continued.  “Whoever is the last one back in the apartment has to sleep on the couch.”

“What?!” Everyone gasped.

“It’s to promote not staying out late at parties and being an idiot,” Daichi explained.  Ushijima nodded his head slightly, but the other 3 were still in shock.

“But… I… what?!” Bokuto struggled to find words.

“That’s that.  And if you’re just the last one in… that sucks for you,” Daichi shrugged.

“It makes sense, I guess,” Kuroo sighed.  “I just want to get the fu… get off of the couch.”

“Nice receive,” Bokuto sniggered.

“Okay, guys, this one is pretty serious, alright?” Daichi looked up from his notes, a grim look on his face, as the group realized how serious he was.  “Bokuto, so I know the other day you drove here while you were drunk, right?”

“Yeah, so?” Bokuto crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

“That’s illegal and dangerous, so please do not do it,” Daichi’s aura seemed quite dark.  “If it does happen, stay the night or call one of us, alright?  This goes for _all_ of you, including myself, so let’s please stay safe and stuff.”  To Daichi’s surprise, everyone nodded their heads in understanding and seemed slightly solemn.

“Also, let’s try to keep this place relatively clean.  Right now it’s a pit, so we’re going to have to clean up things from now on.  We could get fined if it’s too dirty.”  They all glanced around the general living space, clothes, empty bags of food, and soda cans/bottles littered around the entire place, as well as notebooks and textbooks scattered across the tables and floor.

“That is an excellent observation," Ushijima said.

"Well, damn," Kuroo muttered, thrusting his hand into the swear jar.

“We’re already making some good cash!” Oikawa commented.

“Oh, another thing,” Daichi looked up from his list (scribbled on a crumpled up piece of notebook paper).  “Please, for the love of god, wear something on your bottoms unless you’re in the bathroom alone.  I really do not want to be scarred for life.”

“Dammit!” Bokuto contributed to the jar.  “I love walking around with my – “

“Bokuto don’t do it – “

“ _Boy_ hanging out.”

“ _Why_ … just why?” Everyone groaned and covered their faces as Bokuto leaned back, as if her were reminiscing. 

“So _free_ …”

“Next topic, please!” Oikawa yelled above everyone’s annoyed grunts.

“Finally, practice is from 4:00 to 7:00, so we can all come home together and eat dinner or something.  We will take turns making dinner in this order,” Daichi set up a whiteboard in the kitchen, with everyone’s names on a certain day.  “Or you can order takeout as long as you’re the one that pays for it.”

“Well, takeout on Tuesdays!” Bokuto shouted, as his day was Tuesday.

“I know how to make cookies, does that count as dinner?” Oikawa asked.

Daichi and Ushijima responded with “no,” while Kuroo and Bokuto (unsurprisingly) yelled “Yes!” Daichi rubbed his temples while Ushijima and Bokuto debated why cookies couldn’t (or _could_ ) be dinner.

“Okay, well, unless anyone has further comments or questions, this meeting is over,” Daichi finished after what seemed like 3 years.

“Yes,” Bokuto responded, breaking off his fight with Ushijima.  “Is everyone alright with Takeout Tuesdays?”  A mumble of agreements and a “Bokuto, can’t you just learn how to cook?” mingled together.

“Any, uh, _not-stupid_ questions?” Daichi exhaled, earning a “hey!” from Bokuto.

“Nah, we good!” Oikawa held up his hand in the ‘okay’ sign.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ushijima agreed.

“Alright, then this family, wow, excuse me,” Daichi stuttered, causing everyone to burst into laughter, howling and hitting the table.  “This _house_ meeting is finished.”

“We’re one, big, happy family!” Kuroo leapt up, knocking his chair over.

“This deserves a selfie!” Oikawa whipped his phone out and stood on one of the chairs.  “Gather ‘round, everyone!”  Even though they all unanimously groaned, the rest of the group stood behind Oikawa, who was smiling and holding up a peace sign.

Daichi had a soft smile on his face with a thumb’s up.

Ushijima was shrugging, his hands up.

Bokuto stuck his tongue out really far, holding bunny ears over Kuroo’s head.

Kuroo had his stupid-ass smirk on his face as he held up more peace signs.

“ _This_ is going on all my social media,” Oikawa grinned slyly as he messed around with his phone.

“Make sure to tag us, at least!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg i love my boys so much  
> (i dont know if any will but if anyone makes art then send me a message on Tumblr @ haikyuuliberos.tumblr.com !! if someone did i would probably cRY)  
> i actually love this au so much im so happy it popped into my mind (amongst like 10 million other au's)  
> love you all and thanks for the massive positive feedback! :D
> 
> Update 5/13:  
> GUYS @imaginary_dragonling made fanart of this chapter!!!! Check it out (http://haikyuuliberos.tumblr.com/post/144312833946/were-one-big-happy-family) and check out her account!
> 
> Thank you so much! :D <3


	4. Not Even Surprised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry not sorry for all the oc's  
> if you have a question about what they look like just ask in the comments WHOOPS

**_Kuroo: Lmao what time is practice_ **

**_Daichi: same time as every day, 4:00_ **

**_Oikawa: are you fucking kidding me_ **

**_Ushijima: i think there should be a contribution to the swear jar._**

Daichi shook his head with a sigh (something that was becoming more and more common for him with each day he spent with his roommates) as he changed into his practice clothes: a sky blue t-shirt and white shorts (the school colors were light blue and yellow, but their jerseys and practice shirts were light blue, white, and black).  He was the first one in the locker room until one of the returning UT players, the setter Ikeda, entered the room.

“Hey, Sawamura,” the friendly setter waved as he walked over to his locker room.

“Hey, how are you?” Daichi responded.  It was still an odd feeling to address another student who was older than him, since he was still used to being the oldest.

“I’m alright, school’s definitely kicking my butt,” Ikeda laughed as he pulled his bangs back, securing the mess of hair with a small ponytail. 

“Me too,” Daichi agreed, opening up his snapchat.  He saw 3 snapchats from ‘ _RollingThunder04_ ’ and opened it up.

_“Hey Daichi-san!” Nishinoya yelled as he held the phone up as if he were taking a selfie, even though it was a video.  All the returning Karasuno players yelled (Tsukki even waved, which made Daichi laugh).  “We miss you lots, good luck at UT!”  The video cut off, but then was replaced by another video.  It was Hinata and Kageyama (did Hinata look… taller?) working on their quick.  The black bar across the screen had “lmao look at our children” as the caption.  The video then cut off to Noya’s face, the camera shaking, and he held it over his shoulder.  Ennoshita was chasing Noya, his face 10 shades of red from anger._

_“Noya, get back to work!” Ennoshita scolded as he saw the camera._   Noya cackled before the video cut off, and Daichi felt himself smile longingly.  Even though he was happy with where he was, he couldn’t help but feel homesick.  He would have to visit soon.

“Yo, what’s with the long face?” Bokuto’s voice rang throughout the locker room as he slapped Daichi’s back, the latter getting the wind knocked out of him.

“Just… I just miss the Karasuno kids, I guess,” Daichi admitted after recovering.

“Ah,” Bokuto nodded his head, his face showing more seriousness than Daichi had ever seen.  “I know how you feel.  I miss Akaashi and the gang, especially Akaashi’s tosses.  They’re better than anyone’s–“

“I heard that!” Oikawa yelled from just entering the locker room.

“Well, somebody isn’t getting set today,” Ikeda remarked slyly, glancing at Bokuto with his blue eyes.

“NO!” Bokuto fell to the ground, crumpling up into a ball, Daichi stepping over him and walking into the massive practice gym.  Even though it was so big, they only set up one net to practice; it was already set up, so Daichi began warming up, grabbing a ball and hitting it against the wall.

“Want to warm-up together?” Ushijima’s deep voice sounded from behind the former-captain.

“Sure.”  Daichi turned around and tossed Ushijima the ball, who passed it back to him.  The two continued to pass, toss, and hit back to each other, the drill becoming more and more intense as the two progressed.  Their competiveness was getting the best of them as they hit the ball aggressively, yet refused to let it drop.  Finally, Ushijima shanked the pass and the two looked at each other, panting, before they burst out into laughter.

“Wow, our first-years are getting it on,” Oshiro, one of the upperclassman middles, said to Kita, the team’s libero.

“That’s not a bad thing,” Kita replied with a grin.  “Keep it up,kids!”

“We aren't much younger than you guys," Daichi chuckled.

“I’m still your senpai!”

"I apologize for my lack of respect," Ushijima said.

“There we go!" Oshiro applauded.

“Hey, let’s get practice going!” Coach Hayashi’s gruff voice announced, snapping the players out of their conversation.  They all nodded their heads and began with the coaches tossing to the passers (Kita and Daichi, who switched into hitting lines as well), and the setter’s swapped with setting.  Ikeda had natural talent, as well as many years of experience, but Oikawa was just so proficient and could bring out the 110% of every hitter.  It was definitely a brawl to see who would be starting setter.

There was also quite a bit of competition between the hitters: only 3 pin-hitters (of the 6) would play, and only 2 of the 3 middles would play.  Bokuto and Ushijima would most likely play, since they were just so strong, consistent, and accurate, but Daichi wasn’t so sure if he would play (which he knew coming into the position).  Kuroo was also at a disadvantage compared to the other middles, because they had at least two inches on him, height-wise.  Nevertheless, the two former-captains were determined.

“Alright, let’s not get worn out too quickly,” Coach Hayashi yelled.  “Let’s have Sawamura, Kita, and Akiyama receiving, Oikawa, Ushijima, and Minami serving, and then that leaves Ikeda to set Bokuto, Kuroo, Oshiro, Tachibana, and Fukui to hit.  Sound good?”

“Right!”  Everyone dispersed and went to their positions, Daichi going middle back to receive.  He smiled to himself, as receiving was his favorite and strongest position.  Oikawa practically sprinted to the end line so he could serve first.  He was obviously targeting the libero, Kita, because it would be a massive confidence-booster for himself.

The setter tossed the ball up and swung through it aggressively as it hit his hand perfectly, rapidly spinning and dropping towards the ground.  Kita passed the ball, but it was just high and into the middle of the court.  Ikeda tossed it to Bokuto, who hit a straight and pumped his fists in the air.

The other two served, Daichi passing one of the balls to target, and Oikawa was back around.  Daichi could tell from the taunting glint in his eye that he was aiming for his former rival.  Daichi grit his teeth and leaned forward, preparing for the ball.  Oikawa tossed it up again, and hit it with power greater than Daichi had ever seen (since he could afford missing during practice).  The ball spun with incredible velocity, yet Daichi managed to contact it on his platform in a decent spot.  The ball flew up, right to Ikeda’s hands, and the setter set Kuroo, who ran a quick.  Daichi looked up smugly as Oikawa didn’t even try to hide the surprise on his face.  Instead, he tilted his head up as he stared at Daichi, before turning on his heel and walking back to the end of the line.  The pass was a huge confidence booster for Daichi, and he received balls left and right, continuously getting them to target.

They ended up continuing the drill until they got 50 balls to target (per each setter), and had to do conditioning punishments for missing balls and hits, so they were all exhausted.  30 push-up burpees, 100 crunches and 6 laps later, the guys were all bending over and panting like dogs.

“Hey, now,” Coach Hayashi clapped.  “We’re not done yet!”  The guys all silently groaned and, after squirting some Gatorade into their mouths, hurried back over to the court.  Hayashi divided them up into teams, as followed:

Oikawa, Akiyama, Fukui, Ushijima, Bokuto, and Daichi.

Versus

Ikeda, Kita, Kuroo, Tachibana, Minami, and Oshiro.

Hayashi had also told Daichi to stay backrow when Fukui would go back there, and the middle would stay front row when Daichi was technically front row, as if he were a libero (which secretly excited Daichi _and_ made him a little nervous).

The scrimmage went on, and by the level of playing and intensity, Daichi couldn’t help but notice that his side seemed… _stacked_.  Fukui was the tallest on the team and could get up a huge block when he closed with the pin hitters, and Ushijima and Akiyama, the captain of UT’s team, were incredible hitters, along with Bokuto (even though he was in the back row at the moment).  Along with solid receives coming from Daichi, the team was consistent and powerful everywhere.

“Oikawa, switch with Ikeda,” Coach Hayashi dictated.  The two nodded their heads and ducked under the net, giving each other a high-five.  The game resumed, Oikawa serving his aggressive serve to Daichi, who managed to pass it right to Ikeda (with a grunt).  Ikeda then set Ushijima, who hit a line shot and scored the kill.

“Could you get me a little higher, Ikeda-san?” Ushijima requested.

“Of course, my bad,” Ikeda pat his chest apologetically.

The scrimmage continued back and forth between the two teams, the coaches occasionally switching players out to see what worked out.  The teams threw themselves all over the court to save the ball until it bounced against the wooden gym floor, yet Daichi’s team managed to make a break and widen the point gap.

After an hour of scrimmaging, they were all dismissed from practice and left the gym, breathing hard and sweating profusely.  Daichi wiped his forehead with the bottom of his shirt, earning a “Damn, Daichi!” from Bokuto and Kuroo as they walked by, to which he punched their arms.  He let his shirt hang naturally and saw Coach Hayashi standing in front of him.

“Sawamura,” the older man began.  “Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Daichi responded, even though his stomach flipped uneasily.  _Was he in trouble?_

“You’re not in trouble,” the coach chuckled as if he read the player’s mind, patting Daichi’s shoulder.  “I just want to talk to you about your position.  I know you were offered a spot on the team as a wing spiker, but I’m actually very interested in having you libero for us.”

“Really?  But isn’t there already a libero?” Daichi questioned.

“Kita is very good, yes,” Hayashi paused in thought.  “But throughout the last few days, and even when we first scouted you out, we’ve noticed how consistent and accurate your receives are, as well as your skill at reading the hitters.  I think you can be a key part to the team, and you're a natural leader, which is always something we can use on the court.  Does that make sense?"

“Yes,” Daichi nodded slowly.

“What time does your last class end on Mondays and Wednesdays?”

“Mondays and Wednesdays I have a 9-11:00 class and a 1-2:00 class,” Daichi thought-aloud.  “So I am done at 2:00.”

“Great.  Want to come in at 3:00 on those two days and you can work on extra receiving?  I can get Akiyama to hit and serve at you, as he has morning classes those days,” Coach Hayashi offered.  "Just to work on your consistency some more."

“Oh, yeah, sure!” Daichi agreed with a grin on his face.  “Thank you very much, Hayashi-san!”

“Now, get going.  You’re probably the last one unless those lazy idiots are laying around,” Hayashi snorted, patting Daichi on the back as the player jogged to the locker room.  He quickly took his equipment off and shoved it into his locker before slamming it shut and jogging out of the building.  He didn’t see any of his roommates, though, and realized he was doomed to the couch that night.  Shaking his head in disappointment, Daichi slipped his phone out of his bag and began looking through it.  There was a missed call from Suga, but it was from 4:15, which was super early for Suga's timezone.  In case he was sleeping, Daichi decided to not call him back.

He instead opened snapchat and a message from _‘KatMasterKuroo’_ popped up, to which he opened with disdain.  It was a video of the corner of Kuroo’s face (while they were in the locker room), which he was obviously laughing, and Oikawa twerking in the background while Bokuto and Ushijima debated over who would be the ace of UT.  Daichi couldn’t help but burst out laughing as he sent a picture of the sidewalk back with _“ur all idiots”._

He then also sent a pic of his face and a thumbs up and captioned it, _“new libero of UT”_ before sending it to ‘ _RollingThunder04,” “SugaNSpice,”_ and “ _AAzumane3”._   Daichi walked through the city, the sun setting and casting long, warm shadows against the ground where buildings or trees did not block.  After about 15 minutes, Daichi got back to the apartment.

He walked in to see Bokuto and Kuroo in the kitchenette, chugging from cans of Mountain Dew as an opened bag of “Flamin’ Hot Cheetos” lay open beside it, Oikawa screaming "chug!” while Ushijima was bracing himself against the counter in excitement.  The two morons’ eyes burned and tears streamed down their faces, making inhuman gurgling and choking noises.  Finally, Kuroo slammed the cup down and sputtered, “I won!”  All the while, Daichi just stood in the doorway, shaking his head.

“Ah!  Fuck!” Bokuto threw money into the swear jar as he grabbed milk from the fridge and began chugging it. 

“Hey, Daichi!” Oikawa waved as Ushijima handed him some money, and Daichi pieced together that they made a bet off of Kuroo and Bokuto’s stupid decision.

“Hey.  I don’t even want to know why you guys did that and I can’t believe I had to witness that.”

“If I had to choose between a cactus up my butt or that, I’d probably choose the cactus,” Bokuto panted, leaning over the sink.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Daichi asked.  “Oh, swear jar.”  The others began laughing loudly as Daichi contributed to the swear jar for the first time.

“Daichi, why did you stay late?” Ushijima asked.

“Oh, uh, Hayashi-san wanted to talk to me about my position,” Daichi replied.  “He wants me to switch to being a libero.”

“CALLED IT!” Bokuto held his hand out to Kuroo, who dug in his pocket and pulled out some money, placing it in the spikey-haired hitter’s hand.

“Wow, we’re just trading money back and forth now, are we?” Oikawa remarked with a smirk.  “But congrats, Dai-chan~”  More congratulatory comments flowed in, and Daichi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Thanks, guys,” he laughed lightly.  The group all hung out in the living room as Ushijima made dinner (it was his night), and he made a giant meal of meat, noodles, vegetables, and some soup that his mother had given him the recipe for (it was amazing).  They were all laughing and joking around, and it almost felt like they had been living together for longer than a week and a half.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah yes i love the children comment down below we love reading them! :D
> 
> follows us on tumblr and scream with us about these volleyball dorks!
> 
> haikyuuliberos.tumblr.com  
> awkward-kittycat.tumblr.com / trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com
> 
> first sketches of the other team members!  
> http://trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com/post/144552616935/haikyuuliberos-the-first-rough-sketches-for-our


	5. This Means War (part 1)

After Friday evening practice, Daichi was in the locker room, changing into his regular clothes, when Akiyama walked up to him. The tall captain, with his medium brown hair, towered over Daichi, but had a mischievous grin on his face.

“Hey, firsties,” Akiyama began, a teasing (yet kind) grin on his face as the 5 roommates looked at the captain. “You need to be here at 9:00 tomorrow morning.”

“What?! It’s the weekend and we don’t have practice until 3:00!” Bokuto whined, a few others chipping in how they wanted to sleep in.

“This is more important than sleeping in,” Akyiama chuckled. “This is initiation.”

“Initiation?” Kuroo inquired, raising his eyebrows in interest.

“Yes, initiation. I’m not allowed to tell you more, but make sure you’re here by 9:00. Oh, and wear clothes that are easy to move around in.” the captain shrugged, leaving the group perplexed yet excited.

“Initiation?!” Oikawa gasped, hopping up and down. “I remember the third-years did that to us when we were first years, but then our coach banned it after that.”

“What happened?”

“They made us run around the school naked, but a janitor saw us.” Everyone else burst out laughing, Oikawa smiling cheekily.

“Yeah, we never did anything,” Daichi responded after laughing.

“Same” the rest of the group added.

“Well, this will be interesting," Ushijima stated.

 

* * *

 

The 5 roommates were standing outside of the gym at 8:55 the next morning, waiting for the other players to show up. They were secretly nervous that they were being pranked and nobody would show up, but waited anyways. Oikawa was taking tons of snapchats as usual, and Kuroo and Bokuto were counting the number of red cars that passed by. A car showed up, with Akiyama at the wheel, before two others showed up, with Ikeda driving one and Oshiro driving the other. The rest of the players were spread out between the 3 cars, and Akiyama rolled down his window as the 5 first-years walked over.

“Hop in a car, let’s get going!” the pin-hitter grinned. They all split up, Daichi and Oikawa in Akiyama’s car, and Ushijima, Bokuto, and Kuroo in Ikeda’s car. Oikawa kept taking pictures of Daichi (to his annoyance), until Daichi flipped him off and Oikawa captioned it “Papa crow angry” and set it to _KatMasterKuroo_ , _OwlAce44_ , and _SWAGeyama_ (how he had Kageyama’s snapchat was unknown but he did have it).

Daichi began to notice how the buildings of the city disappeared and became trees, rolling hills, and green grass. It was a nice refresher from the city Daichi had gotten familiar to seeing in contrast to the peaceful, secluded Sendai, where Karasuno was.

The car suddenly stopped in a parking lot, surrounded by forest and vegetation. Everyone got out of the three cars, all the returning players looking smug and mischievous as they gathered around.

“This,” Akiyama gestured, spreading his arms out. “This is initiation!” The 5 rookies looked behind him and saw a building and a giant sign that said Outdoor Paintballing. Excited gasping came from everyone, including the ‘veterans.’

“WHAT?!” Bokuto screeched, hopping up and down, using Ushijima’s shoulders as leverage.

“Yep,” Oshiro nodded his head with a grin. “We’re going to play paintball with a twist.”

“A capture-the-flag twist, to be exact,” Akiyama explained. “We’re going to be in two teams and play capture the flag using the paintball guns. They’ll explain the rules to us and show us how to shoot.”

“How is this going to be initiation, exactly?” Oikawa asked, his face lighting up like a little kid.

“That’s where the fun begins,” Ikeda smirked, the 5 roommates sucking a breath in at the same time.

“If you beat us, you are a part of the team,” Akiyama began. “But if you don’t… you’re kicked off.”

“WHAT?!”

“Just kidding,” Akiyama assured as the returning players chuckled, the 5 first-years drooping their shoulders and relaxing. “But we’re going to go out to lunch after, and if you beat us, then we’ll pay for you. If we win, then you pay.”

“It’s just for fun,” Minami, one of the pin hitters, grinned, even though his eyes held a competitive glimmer.

“Wait, is it going to be 5 versus 7?” Daichi inquired. “Because that would be slightly unfair…”

“No,” Akiyama shook his head. “One of us will be joining you. Actually, Ikeda, I’ll throw you under the bus. Go join the rookies.” The setter rolled his eyes at the captain and slapped his shoulder as he walked by, standing next to the roommates. “Okay, we’ll walk in and get registered and whatnot. Let’s go!"

 

* * *

 

“I’m hella ready to kick ass,” Bokuto declared, slipping a vest on. “Wait, the swear jar doesn’t count here, right?”

“No,” Daichi sighed. “Because everyone will probably be swearing.”

“You guys have a swear jar?” Ikeda laughed as he slid his helmet on.

“They swear like sailors,” Daichi shook his head, just as Kuroo said, “Let’s fuck shit up!” Ikeda grinned.

“You guys really are something. I hope we win.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s been 3 or 4 years since the incoming players beat the veterans,” the setter explained as the rest of the team gathered around. “They always kick ass.”

“Well, we’ll change that this year,” Oikawa smirked, swinging his gun around like a pro (it actually looked really cool, but nobody would admit it).

“Yeah!” everyone cheered.

“Alright, so this is what I have in mind,” Ikeda began, taking charge. “3 of us stay and defend, and 3 go out to take the flag. For defense, let’s set up at the sides, under cover, of the flag, and then one person can hide in a tree or something and snipe. Then for offense, we’ll stay together until we get close enough, and we’ll split up and go around. One of us will go in to distract, and may end up sacrificing themselves, and the other two will try to take the flag. Sound good?”

“Dibs on offense!” Bokuto and Kuroo yelled at the same time, looking at each other before high-fiving and bumping their hips.

“Of course,” Oikawa pursed his lips. “I’ll snipe from up there.” He pointed up to a high spot in a tree. “That way, I’ll have a clear view, and they won’t look up there.”

“Are you sure you can get up there?”

“Positive.”

“Alright. I’ll go on offense with Kuroo and Bokuto because I know where the base is, and Daichi, I trust you, Ushijima, and Oikawa to keep our flag?” Ikeda looked at the brown-haired player.

“You got it,” Daichi affirmed.

“Alright. The buzzer should sound in a few minutes, so let’s get ready. Oh, defense, one last thing,” Ikeda glanced over at his shoulder. “Watch for attacks coming from behind. It’s a classic move they pull.”

“Sounds good,” Daichi gave a thumbs up, just as the buzzer sounded.

“Well, see you on the other side,” Ikeda saluted and took off at a sprint, Bokuto and Kuroo whooping and following shortly after.

“We won't lose," Ushijima said firmly, cocking his gun.   _He looks like he definitely knows what he's doing_ , Daichi thought, as he quickly surveyed himself.  Yeah, he had no idea what he was doing.

“Of course we won't!" Oikawa yelled, climbing up the tree. “Shit!”

“Oikawa, if you fall, I’m going to break your neck,” Daichi called.

“You sound like Iwa-chan!"

 

* * *

 

Bokuto followed behind Ikeda, Kuroo right next to him. It wasn’t a particularly hot day, but with the equipment they had to wear and occasionally being hit by rays of midday sun, he was beginning to sweat. They seemed to be jogging for minutes on end, and Bokuto began to pant.

“Jesus, how far away is this?” Bokuto whispered loudly.

“Only another minute or two until we split up,” Ikeda responded, much quieter. Their feet crunched against the ground, their breathing and the chirps of birds being the only other things that penetrated the silence. They ran down a slope, leading them to another small hill, where Ikeda put his hand up.

“This is it,” Ikeda murmured. “Just past the top of the hill is their base. We should split up.”

“Yeah,” Kuroo nodded. “All 3 of us go a different direction?”

“Actually,” Bokuto crouched down. “What if two of us go one direction and throw them off, and then the other person can try to sneak by and grab the flag?”

“That’s actually not a dumb idea,” Kuroo shrugged, turning to Ikeda. “What do you think?”

“We’ve never done it before, but that’s not a bad idea,” the setter nodded his head. “I’ll take one for the team and go to the left by myself, and you two can take the right?”

“Sounds good.”

Bokuto and Kuroo began to creep around to the right of the hill, slowly making their way up, quiet as ever (for once). They heard talking, coming from the other team, and slowed their footsteps. Suddenly, Kuroo stepped on a particularly dry twig, and it snapped. The chatter died down instantly.

“That’s definitely them, I’ll go check.” They froze and dove behind cover, peeking through the bushes to see Kita hiding behind a tree, scoping the area out. Bokuto was about to raise his gun when Kuroo tapped his shoulder, and they saw further back: Ikeda, hiding behind a thick tree, was aiming for the small player. Suddenly, a shot was heard and blue paint splattered over Kita’s shoulder.

“I’m hit!” he dramatically cried, falling to the ground.

“Over there!” the other’s voices called, echoing throughout the trees. Ikeda’s face showed “ _oh, shit_ ” as the two rookies saw him sprint away, another player chasing him.

“Ikeda’s distracting, let’s go,” Bokuto grabbed Kuroo’s arm, dragging the other to his feet, and the two sprinted to the center of the opposing team’s camp. Suddenly, a red ball of paint flew by Bokuto’s face, and he watched it hit a tree behind him. Oshiro had his eyes narrowed in a glare as he swore to himself, taking aim again. Kuroo grabbed the gray-haired wing-spiker and pulled him to the ground, the two rolling out of the way.

“I’m hit!” Ikeda’s voice rang. “Grab the flag! Go!” Kuroo and Bokuto scrambled to their feet as they sloppily shot at Oshiro, hiding on a platform, as blue paintballs splattered the wall behind. Bokuto yanked the decent-sized flag out of its holder and took off at a sprint, Kuroo behind him.

“Go, go!” Kuroo basically pushed Bokuto, the two accidentally tripping. They rolled down the hill shrieking, leaves and dirt getting into their mouth.

“Motherfucker!” Bokuto spat, nature coming out of his mouth as he bear-crawled his way to his feet, Kuroo stumbling behind.

“Go, go!” Ikeda's voice pierced as paintballs zoomed by the two’s heads. They sprinted for their life, weaving through trees and bushes. Suddenly, a thump was heard, and Bokuto heard a cry of agony.

“Bo, I’m down! Go!” Kuroo’s voice commanded.

“Bro!” Bokuto looked back to see his fallen friend, but the other players were coming up quickly. Oshiro and Tachibana were gaining on Bokuto as they chased him, shooting towards the first-year. Taking a deep breath and adjusting his grip on the flag, Bokuto took off at a sprint and tore through the woods, the clearing between the two bases far from view.

 

* * *

 

“Well, this boring as fuck,” Oikawa commented. “When are they going to be back?”

“Patience is necessary in times like these," Ushijima sagely replied.

“They just left,” Daichi squatted down, hiding in a bush. “Remember, whatever you do, don’t blow your cover, because then they’ll see you and try to shoot you.”

“Right,” the other two’s voices mixed, deafening silence overcoming the three as they anxiously waited. The blue flag waved majestically in the breeze, as if it were just waiting to be snatched. The group waited around for about 10 minutes, quietly scanning the forested area.

“Hey, what do you – “ Oikawa’s voice cut off as the snapping of sticks was heard, and the group shut up. They seemed to hold their breath with anxiety, waiting for someone to make a move. Suddenly, a figure darted through the camp (from behind) and grabbed the flag, sprinting onward. A few red paintballs flew through the camp.

“Hey!” Ushijima shouted, aiming towards the figure, who Daichi made out to be Minami. The pin-hitter called out loudly, until a blue paintball hit him square in the back. He fell down, shouting loudly.

“Don’t think you’d get away so easily!” Oikawa’s voice sounded through the woods with a smug tone. A shot whizzed by Daichi’s general direction, and he ducked down as he saw Fukui aimed towards Daichi. The two traded paintballs back and forth, until the offender ran into the forest to retreat.

“That was close,” Ushijima remarked, running low to the ground as he went to grab the flag to return to its position. A loud ‘thump’ and ‘splat’ were heard, and Ushijima’s voice roared, “I’ve been hit! They’re getting the flag!” Daichi leapt up and tore through the woods, seeing the bright blue flag in Akiyama’s possession. The captain turned around with a smirk on his face, but it faltered as soon as Daichi fired, hitting him in the shoulder. Akiyama swore loudly and dropped the flag, holding his arm. Fukui spun around on his heel, and Daichi dove for the flag, grabbing it and rolling behind a tree. Shots were exchanged between the two players, taunting one another.

“Don’t be a chicken, firstie!”

“Try to get the flag before making insults, why don’tcha?”

Finally, Daichi took a risk and began to sprint back towards camp, until he heard frantic screaming. It sounded just like Bokuto, and he had no doubt that it was. His faint voice cried, “I have the flag but _I’m going to die_!”

Fukui was turned around, listening to the yelling, and Daichi snagged the opportunity to strike. He ran out from behind the tree, the flag hoisted over his shoulder, and shot the upperclassmen in the hip.

“Shit!” Fukui dropped his gun, sinking to the ground (he was out and since it was from close range, it kind of hurt). Daichi took off towards the direction of Bokuto’s voice and came upon the clearing. The spiky-haired player was sprinting through the field, screaming as 2 other players followed behind. With each shot, the two players, Oshiro and Tachibana, were gaining on Bokuto. Daichi crouched down and began firing at the two players, nearly hitting Oshiro, who looked up. He began to aim for Daichi, who managed to duck just as a red paintball splattered on the tree behind him.

“Bokuto, run!” Daichi ordered, his voice cracking. The wing spiker began hauling himself uphill, the trees providing more cover. Daichi waited until Bokuto was in front of him, forcing his legs forward, until he followed. Daichi was practically pushing Bokuto forward to the camp.

“Just a little longer,” Daichi encouraged. Just then, a paintball flew too-close to the duo, hitting a tree less than a meter away. Whipping their heads around, the duo saw the other two closely behind.

“You thought we would give up so easily?” Tachibana yelled, the two getting closer and closer.

“Run!” Bokuto demanded with the last of his breaths, his legs burning as much as his lungs. Daichi stayed back and fired, hitting Tachibana, who cried out with a slew of swears. Oshiro faltered for a second, giving Daichi enough time to take off. Bokuto was at the entrance of their camp and stuck the flag in the holder, Daichi sprinting towards his own.

“Daichi!” they shouted, and suddenly Daichi was tackled to the ground. Oikawa was laying on top of him, red covering his side. Oikawa pushed Daichi forward, the latter stumbling up, using his hands to help him get up. He shoved the flag pole into the holder, and only a second or two passed before a red paintball hit him in the visor of his helmet.

“We won,” Daichi panted. “Blue team, we won!” Oikawa, Ushijima, and Bokuto all began whooping and cheering, even though the four of them lay collapsed on the ground because they were so exhausted, especially Bokuto. He had just sprinted probably a half-mile, wearing a heavy vest and carrying a gun and flag, but he was screeching the loudest. Daichi flopped down on his back next to Bokuto, the whole group laughing with relief as the midday sun shone.  Tachibana, Oshiro, Fukui, Minami, and Akiyama walked into the camp, breathing heavily. All of them except Akiyama seemed disheartened, but Akiyama looked surprised.

“Wow, I honestly didn’t think you guys would win,” the captain laughed.

“Thanks," Oikawa panted.

Bokuto glanced up, "I was terrified."

“Hey now,” Daichi shook his head with a grin. “We won, isn’t that all that matters?”

“And free food!” Bokuto punched the air from where he was laying on the ground. A few moments later, Kuroo, Ikeda, and Kita walked into the camp, all dirty and covered with different colored paint as well.

“We won!” Kuroo whooped loudly, scaring Ikeda and Kita.

“Hell yeah we did!” Bokuto leapt up with replenished energy, and the two went through a long handshake, everyone else watching in amusement.

“Well,” Akiyama sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Lunch is on us.”

“HELL YEAH!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haikyuuliberos was a bit busy today so it was up to me to post the new chapter.
> 
> I'm currently working on character designs for all of the oc's that are going to be appearing more often as the story continues. Those should be finished in a few weeks along with the daisuga prologue, which will be posted once the semester is over.
> 
> We also want to know what you think of these new characters, who's your favorite? who do you want to see more of? let us know in the comments! 
> 
> -Trashcan-Kitty


	6. This Means War (part 2)

“Bokuto, your hair is awful,” Oikawa scoffed from the couch after taking a snapchat.  Bokuto was in the kitchen, eating a pack of Oreos after just waking up.  His hair was all over the place from sleeping, and it was actually pretty funny.  Everyone looked at him, laughing.

“Like your hair looks flawless when you wake up,” Bokuto grumbled with a mouthful of cookies, black crumbs flying out of his mouth.  Daichi chuckled lightly and felt his phone buzz, seeing a snapchat from _UFOikawa_ .  When he opened it, it was a picture of Oikawa rolling his eyes and Bokuto in the background, his hair circled in red, with the caption: ‘ _his hair is garbage’_.  Daichi couldn’t help but burst out laughing, taking a screenshot.

“Oikawa, who else did you send that to?”

“You, _‘Gr8Ace’, ‘KatMasterKuroo’,_ and _‘Iwaizumi4H’,”_ Oikawa turned around on the couch, a sly grin on his face.  “So far, everyone except Iwaizumi has screenshotted it.”

“Oh god,” Daichi shook his head.

 

* * *

 

That afternoon, after classes and practice, the guys were all sitting around the main area of the house doing an assortment of tasks.  Ushijima was in one of the showers, and Oikawa in the other, while Daichi and Kuroo worked on homework.  Bokuto seemed a little extra-fidgety than usual, but Daichi just assumed he had a few too-many Mountain Dews, which was typical.

“Ugh, hurry up,” Bokuto mumbled, tapping his foot.

“You already showered though…?” Daichi raised his eyebrows, gesturing towards Bokuto’s flat hair.

“Yes,” Bokuto grinned mischievously.  “It should be any minute now.”  Suddenly, loud thumping was heard, and Oikawa stumbled out of the hallway by his room, a towel wrapped around his hips as his hair stuck to his head, his entire body dripping.

“Who took all of my hair stuff?!” Oikawa yelled, placing his hands on his hips.  “Kuroo?  Bokuto?”

“It wasn’t me, I swear!” Kuroo responded, lifting his hands up in between snorts of laughter.  Bokuto began cackling loudly, holding his stomach as he threw his head back.

“Bokuto, this isn’t funny!” Oikawa, whined, and the three other roommates began to roar with laughter.  “I’m cold and need my shampoo!”

“Oikawa,” Kuroo wiped tears away, whipping his phone out and taking a snapchat (snapchat had taken over all of their lives).

“Bokuto!” Oikawa began storming around the place, looking everywhere for his shampoo.  He bent down, looking around the living room, when all of a sudden, a gentle thud was heard and Oikawa’s towel was on the ground, his ass completely visible to everyone, including Kuroo’s camera.  Oikawa screamed loudly, while hyena-like laughter filled the vicinity; Bokuto, Kuroo, and Daichi were all crying from laughing so hard.

“It’s imprinted in my mind!” Daichi howled.  “Oh god, no!”

“What did we do to deserve this?!” Bokuto wailed.

“Fuck you all!” Oikawa grabbed his towel hastily, wrapping it around his lower-half tightly  “Goddammit!”

“Now you have to put money in the swear jar,” Kuroo chanted in a sing-song voice.

“AGH!”

“Here,” Bokuto offered between giggles, walking over to the kitchenette and opening up the cabinets.  Inside, there were many different bottles and tubes of hair product, which Oikawa stuffed into his arms, hunching over so he could still hold his towel.

“Wait, what the fu…” Oikawa trailed off, squinting and looking at the bottles.  “’Tooru-approved’?  Bokuto, what the hell is this?!”  At that, Bokuto grabbed one of the bottles and ran over to join the other two, almost tripping on a chair as he began to laugh again.  The wing-spiker shoved the bottle into their faces, and they looked at a round sticker plastered onto the bottle.

It was a circle sticker with a teal background and one of Oikawa’s Instagram selfies photoshopped onto it.  He had his signature smile on his face while he held up his fingers in peace signs, and it read in white bubble letters, ‘ _This product is Tooru-Approved!’_.

“BOKUTO!” Kuroo fell out of his chair and onto the floor.  “You missed your Pre-Calc class to do this?!”

“Yes!” Bokuto replied proudly.  “This was much more important than Pre-Calc.”  The duo began screeching with laughter, Kuroo rolling around on the floor, as Daichi laughed and looked at Oikawa sympathetically.  The setter had a pout on his face as he stood pitifully in the center of the room, holding his hair products in his arms and clinging onto the towel for dear life.  Suddenly, Ushijima walked out from the other bathroom into the main area, taking in the sight of Bokuto and Kuroo crying on the floor, Daichi still shaking with laughter, and a pissed-off, towel-bearing Oikawa.

“I’m not even going to ask.”

 

* * *

 

“Wow, it smells amazing,” Daichi commented as he walked in the door the following day, throwing his backpack on a chair.  Oikawa was in the kitchenette, bent over the oven.

“I made cookies,” Oikawa beamed.

“Why?”

“Why not?” the setter shot back playfully.

“Well, thanks,” Daichi shrugged and grabbed one, biting into the warm treat.  “Wow, you’re cookies _are_ really good.”

“I know.  Except… not this bunch,” the brunette grabbed a separate plate of cookies that looked the exact same.

“What do you mean?” the Karasuno-alum inquired, picking up a cookie and looking at it.

“I’m still pissed by what Bokuto did, embarrassing the shit out of me,” Oikawa began, sliding some money into the swear jar.  “So, this is payback.  I replaced the vanilla with soy, the flour with baking soda… and I fucked everything else up besides the chocolate chips so they still look the same.”

“They still smell…” Daichi brought a cookie to his nose and took a deep breath.  “They still smell alright?”

“Yeah,” Oikawa grinned slyly.  “I bought vanilla perfume at the store and sprayed it on them.”

“Isn’t this going a little far?”  The door burst open and Ushijima, Kuroo, and Bokuto walked through, the latter two being much louder than Ushijima.

“Oya oya?” Kuroo chucked his backpack across the room.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Bokuto threw his arms up.  “What’s this?”

“I made cookies,” Oikawa exclaimed.

“Yes!” Bokuto grabbed a handful from the bad batch, and Oikawa swiped it away from Kuroo’s reaching hand.  The middle gave the setter a funny look, but only received a snort of laughter.  “I have been _craving_ … holy fucking shit!  What the hell?!”  Bokuto began to make choking sounds and ran over to the sink, spewing chunks of the cookie out.

“Are you choking?" Ushijima seemed genuinely concerned, placing his bag down so he could perform the Heimlich maneuver if need-be.

“I made cookies!” Oikawa repeated.  “I just made a shitty batch for Bokuto because you’re a dick.”  The pin-hitter ignored the setter, tilting his head sideways as he drank water from the sink, groaning in relief.

“The good batch is really good,” Daichi added in.  Kuroo and Ushijima tentatively grabbed cookies (from the good batch) and took the smallest bite into them, visibly relaxing after they realized they weren’t all awful.  Bokuto wiped his tongue with his hand, shaking his hand over the sink afterwards.

“Oikawa, you don’t even know what you started,” Bokuto laughed coolly.  “This is _war_.”

“A prank war?” Oikawa sized him up, crossing his arms over his apron (yes, he was wearing an apron that said “Kiss the Cook”).

“Yes… a _prank war_.”

 

* * *

 

The next few days passed quietly without any pranks or problems within the apartment.  Bokuto and Oikawa were still being weird and sneaky around each other, often having short, sarcastic conversations.  Daichi, Kuroo, and Ushijima watched with amusement (and anxiety because they didn’t know what to expect).  Everyone was practically walking on eggshells around the apartment, afraid to come across a prank intended for another person.

Everyone was in the main area after practice one evening, eating, finishing homework, or on their computers doing whatever.  Oikawa stood up and stretched his arms overhead, walking towards his room.

“I’m going to shower,” he informed nobody in particular before walking away.  Everyone nodded, no words needing to be exchanged, until they noticed Bokuto’s shoulders shaking.  He was covering his mouth, but they could still tell that a devious grin hid beneath.

“Uh-oh,” Daichi remarked, and literally one second later they heard a shriek and a slew of swear words.  Oikawa stomped out moments later, holding a large plastic bowl as he was covered in green… paint?  His hair was splotched green and matted down, and the scowl on his face was interrupted by green paint dripping down his forehead.  His shirt was also covered in the paint.

“Really?” Oikawa asked, unamused, as Bokuto and Kuroo began to laugh hysterically.  Daichi was shaking his head, laughter falling from his lips, Ushijima in the same state as well.

“Well, while you get cleaned up, I’m gonna hit the hay,” Bokuto stood up, walking towards their bedroom.  Everyone said goodnight to him, Oikawa standing with his arms crossed smugly.  A thud, popping, and screaming were heard from the bedroom, and Bokuto quickly returned, his shirt partially wet.

“There were _water balloons_?!” Bokuto cried, looking at himself as everyone else began screeching like hyenas.

“Yes,” Oikawa shook his head up-and-down between laughs.  “You _always_ jump on your bed, so I knew you would jump right onto the water balloons.”

“Now my bed’s soaked!”

“Suck it up, cupcake!”

And that was the beginning of the official war.  Even though it was already ‘declared,’ the pranks became more and more numerous as well as intense.  The pranks included, but were not limited to:

-Bokuto getting the rest of the guys to gang up on Oikawa in a nerf gun battle

-Oikawa putting a packet of kool-aid powder in the shower, resulting in Bokuto showering in the "fruit punch"

-Bokuto putting a mentos in the top of a Diet Coke bottle and when Oikawa opened it, the mentos fell in and got diet coke all over him

-Oikawa replacing Bokuto’s hair gel with glue (that took a 45 minute-long shower to get out)

-Bokuto putting salt on Oikawa’s toothbrush and replacing his mouthwash with Gatorade

-Oikawa hitting Bokuto in the face and running away, Bokuto running face-first into saran-wrap attached to the sides of the hallway, resulting in him falling over.

Even though the prank war was between Oikawa and Bokuto, everyone was on edge and afraid to be caught in the middle of a prank.  Daichi and Kuroo had almost been victims of the pranks, and Ushijima had just stayed away from everyone to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Things took a turn for the worst, however, in the locker room one day.  Bokuto had gone to the bathroom while everyone else was changing out of their sweaty clothes and chatting casually.  Suddenly, a can flew into the room and bounced on the ground, spinning around the floor as (Axe) body spray filled the room quickly.  Everyone was choking and yelling, the air actually becoming blurry as the substance clouded the room.

“Who did that?!” Akiyama roared, storming over to the first-year’s section of the locker room.

“I don’t – “ Daichi choked, covering his nose and mouth with his shirt, his eyes watering.  “I don’t know.”

“It was probably – “ Kuroo cut off as he burst into a fit of coughing.

“Take that, Oikawa!” Bokuto’s voice sounded from the other section of the locker room.  The bottle had just run out, and the air was beginning to clear just slightly as they all opened every possible door, the smell imprinting itself in their noses as they gagged and held back tears from the stench.

“Hey, first years!  Outside,” Akiyama commanded, looking pissed.  They hadn’t seen him angry yet, so this was something new.  As they made their way outside, nearly shaking with fear, the captain turned around to face them with a glare, his eyes red.

“Why did you think that would be funny, Bokuto?  That smell is going to be in there for the next _week_ and we just about died,” Akiyama thundered.

“I’m… uh,” Bokuto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.  “I was trying to prank Oikawa, but ended almost killing everyone else.”

“And you thought it would be funny to do it amongst the rest of the team?”

“We’ve been living in the midst of a prank war for the past week,” Ushijima explained.

“A prank war?  Really?” Akiyama’s usually laid-back personality wasn’t anywhere to be seen.  “Well, I don’t care, as long as you don’t bring it here again.  Or anywhere out in public, preferably.”

“We apologize, Akiyama-san,” Oikawa and Bokuto said in unison, bowing.  He curtly nodded his head, leaving the 5 by themselves.

“Are you guys dumbasses?!” Daichi swore, everyone looking at him in shock.

“Yes, they are,” Kuroo sighed.

“Yeah, Bokuto, for real,” Oikawa turned to the wing-spiker.  “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I was just trying to prank you,” Bokuto shrugged.

“Okay, well, I have to go grab some stuff for my biology class from the store, so I’ll be taking the couch tonight, I guess,” Oikawa told everyone, grabbing his bag before waving them off.  The group nodded and finished packing up their equipment in the awful smelling locker room, silence resting between them.

 

* * *

 

Back at the apartment, Daichi was the only one up (it was around 11:00), or so he thought: he was working on a project for his Language Arts class, finishing up some research.  Daichi was sitting at the kitchen table, when he heard rustling.  When he looked up, Daichi saw Oikawa standing in the kitchen with a bag in his hands.

“What’s that?” Daichi inquired, turning away from his laptop.

“It’s a surprise,” Oikawa whispered, his eyes sparkling cunningly in the darkness of the room.

“Oh shit,” Daichi sighed, throwing some money in the swear jar.  “I have a really bad feeling about this.  You two should just call a truce or something.”

“If we have to end this, I’m going out with a bang,” the setter replied.  “Literally.”

“Oikawa, what are you – “

“Be back in a jiffy!” Oikawa interrupted him, dashing off with a pot in his hands.  Daichi followed his roommate with his eyes, sitting tensely in his chair.  Oikawa ran back quickly, sliding on the floor, and jumped behind the couch, crouching down.  Suddenly, loud pops – no, _bangs_ – were heard, and screaming followed soon after.  Daichi whipped his head around to Oikawa, jaw-dropped and astonished.

Bokuto ran out of the room still screeching, Kuroo following seconds later, holding pillows over his ears.  Ushijima rushed out of his and Daichi’s room, looking surprised and tried.  They all looked at each other before looking at Oikawa, hiding behind the couch.

“WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT?!” Bokuto yelled.  “I just about died!”

“That’s how we all felt in the locker room!” Oikawa retorted.

“I didn’t put fucking firecrackers in a pot and put them right next to you _while you were sleeping_!”

“Well you can suck my – “

“How about you shut – “

“EVERYONE!” Daichi’s angry voice interrupted the fighting, and they all turned to him, pale even in the darkness.  “That’s it.  The prank war is over, and if there are any more pranks in this apartment or between any of us, I will kick you out.  Is that _clear_?”

“…Yes.”  Oikawa and Bokuto looked at each other before walking over to each other, shaking hands and nodding their heads solemnly.

“Now… let’s try to go to bed.”

In the morning, they woke up to 6 noise complaints and a fine, but they were able to pay it off with all the money that was made from the swear jar from the prank war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel so bad for Daichi
> 
> this was actually so fun to write oh my god we were dying 
> 
> thanks for all the love and support!! we love reading your comments :D


	7. Don't Forget To Set The Timer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where the boys complain about school, bake cookies, get stuck in the bathroom, and roast each other.

“I am dead,” Kuroo threw his pencil across the room, hitting Ushijima and receiving a few choice words.  “Can I just get my degree and not have to do anything?”

“Retweet!” Bokuto’s voice came from the opposite side of the room.

“Same,” Daichi muttered, taking a deep breath and placing his pencil down.  “Wait, Bokuto, didn’t you switch majors, though?”

“Yeah,” the wing-spiker replied.  “I was going into the historical field, but then it got too boring, so I’m looking into Agricultural studies!”

“Why don’t you just do sports medicine with me?” Kuroo raised his eyebrows.

“Because the word _medicine_ is in it,” Bokuto stuck his tongue out.

“Didn't you mention you have an interest in a profession dealing with athletics?” Ushijima asked.

“I said I like sports, but not medicine.”

“Bokuto, you’re good at math and... _decent_ at science,” Oikawa chipped in from the kitchen area.  “Sports medicine seems like it would be for you.”

“Ah, god!  They’re all ganging up on me!” Bokuto stuck his arms out in front of them, waving them around as he fell off of his chair.  He stood up, looked at his book, and threw it onto the floor.  “Oikawa, can you teach me how to make cookies?”

“Sure!” the setter leapt up, grabbed Bokuto’s arm, and the two began grabbing supplies from the cabinets as the other 3 worked on their schoolwork.  Daichi typed some math problems into his calculator and finally finished them, closing his book with a sigh of relief.  Kuroo sat next to him, anxiously running his hands through his messy hair as he stared at the book page.

“Where the fuck is the _pronator teres_?!” Kuroo flipped through his notebook and homework assignments, muttering to himself.

“That’s the arm muscle here." Ushijima pointed to the exact spot.

“How’d you remember it that quickly?!”

“I was studying while running on the treadmill this morning.”

“Why must you be so damn athletic?”

Oikawa popped his head back in the room.  “Swear jar!”

Everyone chatted easily, Bokuto and Oikawa in the kitchenette making the cookie dough.  Oikawa was mainly measuring out the ingredients and telling Bokuto what to do, the spiky-haired roommate messily following Oikawa’s instructions.  The setter was secretly losing his patience but didn’t say anything, only put on his best smile and motherly attitude.

“Chocolate chips!” Bokuto screeched, grabbing the bag and pouring around a fourth of its contents into his mouth.

“Bokuto, no!” Oikawa grabbed the bag, chips scattering on the floor.

“Clean that up,” Daichi sighed, without looking up.

“We will,” Oikawa assured, turning to find Bokuto on his hands and knees, crawling around the floor and shoving the remaining chocolate into his mouth.  “Remind me to never bake with you again, please.”

“That’s not nice!” Bokuto pouted, his mouth full.

“Okay, well I have to go to the bathroom,” Kuroo abruptly stood up and walked out of the room, the chatter quieting significantly.  Daichi and Ushijima were talking about their majors (Teaching vs Sports Medicine), as Oikawa and Bokuto were putting the blobs of cookie dough on the tray.

“Okay, then these go in for 15 minutes,” Oikawa informed Bokuto.  “You can set a timer on your phone and do all that, right?”

“Of _course_ , Oikawa,” Bokuto rolled his eyes.  “I’m not 4!”

“You sure act like it,” Daichi butt in.  Ushijima pursed his lips while Oikawa bursted into hysterical laughter, fist-bumping Daichi.  Bokuto looked unamused and had his mouth open, screeching following soon after.

“Put the cookies in the oven, dammit!” Oikawa scolded, throwing some yen into the overflowing swear jar.

“I’m working on it!” Bokuto’s voice was heard, as he bent down to put the cookies in.  Metal-on-metal clatters were heard, along with a large thump and a, “We’re okay!”  The player stood back up and took the oven mittens off, dusting his hands off.

“Okay, I trust you.  I’m going to go call Iwa-chan!” Oikawa skipped out of the room, leaving Daichi, Ushijima, and Bokuto by themselves.

“Ushiwaka, I bet you I can get more kills than you at practice tomorrow,” Bokuto taunted.

“How much?”

“1000 yen.”

“Alright.”

“Yup.”

“I had 37 kills at practice yesterday."

“Oh, really?” Bokuto raised his eyebrows, looking astonished.  “Even though _I_  had 41 a few days ago.”

“That is impressive.  Did you count one touch or two-touch kills?"

“One touch, duh!"

“Let me just stay out of this one,” Daichi muttered to himself, checking his phone.

“Who was the dumbass that forgot to replace the toilet paper?!” Kuroo’s muffled voice yelled.

“Well, at least we know you were taking a shit!” Bokuto cackled.

“I can’t reach the cabinet!  Someone save me!” Kuroo wailed.

“You’re on your own for this one!” Daichi shouted back, resulting in laughter from Bokuto and Ushijima.

“AGH!” Kuroo howled.  They watched the hallway by the bathroom, but Oikawa came running out instead, sliding on the wood floor and almost face-planting.

“Guys, can Iwa-chan come over next Saturday?!” he squealed, bouncing up and down.  Through the phone, Iwaizumi could be heard saying, ‘Don’t call me that in front of the other guys!’

“Sure,” Daichi said at the same time as Bokuto replied, “Yes!”

“Just please don’t be fucking on the couch!" Kuroo's voice rang.

“We won’t be on the couch,” Oikawa stuck his tongue out before his lips twisted up with a smirk.  “We’ll be on the kitchen counter.”

“Are you fucki – “

“Oh god, Oikawa…”

“WHY?!” Bokuto’s voice pierced through everyone else’s disappointed mutters.

“Just kidding!” Oikawa laughed, and Iwaizumi’s voice could be heard: ‘No, Tooru.'  Kuroo reappared from the bathroom, puckering his lips as he gazed at the group of guys.

 

“I wish I had a boyfriend!” Kuroo complained.

“Aren’t you dating Kenma?” Ushijima inquired.

“…no.”

“I wish I was dating someone!” Bokuto interrupted.

“You and Akaashi are dating!” Kuroo looked at the young man in his arms before abruptly dropping him on the ground, resulting in a cat-like yowl.

“We decided to take a break because of school,” Bokuto shrugged, standing up.  "And I have volleyball."

“Boku-chan, all you _have_ is volleyball,” Oikawa chirped, holding the phone away from his mouth.  Kuroo began guffawing loudly, holding his stomach.  Ushijima actually let out a snort of laughter, and Daichi stood there, his facial expression neutral, as the whole scene played out.  Bokuto's face was bright red as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“That’s what I thought!” Oikawa giggled.  “Iwa-chan, I have to take Bokuto to the hospital.  He just got _burned…_ no, not physically!  I roasted him!  Oh, shut-up!  Love you, bye.”  Oikawa put his phone on the counter, smugly grinning at Bokuto.

“Yeah, you and your boyfriend are long distance, though," Bokuto remarked.

“Not as long distance as Daichi,” Oikawa remarked, looking at the Karasuno-alum.  “I give you major props, being in a relationship with someone on a different continent!”

“Yeah,” Daichi laughed lightly, even though his heart ached at the thought of Suga.  “I plan on going back to visit when he's home for summer break though."

“Wait, I know this sappy love stuff is important, but I have an urgent question,” Bokuto interrupted the group, his eyebrows furrowed.  “Who is the best Avenger?!”

“Captain America!” Daichi blurted out at the same time as Kuroo, who said “Thor!”  The two’s heads whipped towards each other, before a debate ensued on their leadership, powers, etc.

“Obviously Ironman,” Oikawa sneered.

“I think Hawkeye is the physically most talented Avenger, without needing any special powers," Ushijima input.

“No!  Wrong!” Bokuto began making alarm sounds, signifying that he was right (or so he thought).  “The Hulk is the best!”

“No, Hawkeye’s aim and skill – “

“But Captain America’s leadership outweighs – “

“But Hulk is so _awesome_!”

“Iron Man is basically a _robot_ – “

“Wait, wait!” Ushijima held his hands up, silencing everyone in a matter of seconds.  “What’s that smell?”  They all sniffed the air, and the smell of burning filling their noses.

“Bokuto, did you set a timer?”

“…fuck.”

Oikawa dashed over to the kitchenette and grabbed the mittens, thrusting the oven door open.  Smoke gushed out of the oven, Oikawa spewing and coughing as he waved it away from his face.  The smoke alarm began beeping almost instantly as the rest of the roommates scurried around frantically, opening windows and trying to get the smoke alarm to quiet down.  Oikawa threw the hot tray onto a trivet before whipping his mittens off, taking in the sight of the unrecognizable cookies.  Slowly, even as the smoke alarm kept blasting its high-pitched noise, the other roommates gathered around Oikawa and the counter, looking at the small piles of black dust where delicious cookies to-be originally rested.

“All because you don’t know how to set a goddamn timer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (sidenote: SORRY FOR SUCH A SHORT CHAPTER OH MY GOD I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAP IS GOING TO BE PRETTY LONG)
> 
> so we hope you guys liked the chapter! It's just a tone of shenanigans that happen every day tbh...
> 
> also: thank you to @imaginary_dragonling for the awesome fanart from chapter 3! It's AMAZING go check them out!!! http://haikyuuliberos.tumblr.com/post/144312833946/were-one-big-happy-family 
> 
> Thanks again for all your comments and love!
> 
> Update 5/18:  
> first sketches of the other team members!  
> http://trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com/post/144552616935/haikyuuliberos-the-first-rough-sketches-for-our  
> art creds to @trashcan-kitty  
> character creds @haikyuuliberos @trashcan-kitty


	8. Dancing Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where a (boy)friend comes to visit, they try to dance, and shit gets a little real.

Daichi grunted as the ball met his arms, bouncing off and up to where the ball-cart sat, still.  It hit the edge before rolling in, joining numerous other balls.

“Nice receive,” Akiyama called from the opposite side, spinning a ball in his hands.  “Get one more good pass and then we’ll take a break.”  Daichi nodded his head, sweat dripping down is forehead.  It was probably around 9:30 in the morning on Saturday, and the two had been working since 9:00 (their practice was at 10:00).  Every Monday, Wednesday, and most Saturdays for the past three weeks, Akiyama had been working with Daichi to improve his receiving.  Not that it was bad, but Daichi could use the extra reps  to work on his consistency and accuracy.

Akiyama took a deep breath, his chest moving upward, as he tossed the ball high into the air.  With what seemed like endless energy, Akiyama hit the ball in the air, and it spun towards the opposite side, where Daichi was receiving.  The new-libero took a step to the right and passed the ball, where it hit the edge of the ballcart.

“Nice pass,” Akiyama praised.  “Let’s shag up.”  The two began to pick up balls quietly, Daichi practically panting and sweating profusely.  Thirty minutes of straight passing was certainly tiring, but he wanted and _needed_ to get better, to ensure his position on the court.

“How do you have so much stamina?” Daichi asked, taking a deep breath in.  “You’ve been jump-serving at me for, like, 30 minutes, and you don’t even seem winded.”

“Funny you ask,” the captain glanced back at Daichi after picking a ball up.  Akiyama’s gray-brown eyes glimmered with reminiscence before he spun the ball in his hand.

“I was ecstatic to play for a prestigious school for volleyball.  I came in as a first year, but I was benched all year.  Even in practice, I didn’t play much.  It was really… heartbreaking, I guess.  All of my expectations were shattered, and it wasn’t what I expected to go into.  I actually cried, if I’m going to be honest.”  The hitter lightly chuckled, turning to face Daichi.  “I began practicing for hours outside of our official practices.  I would spend 2, 3, 4… even more hours, just serving and tossing to myself to hit.  It was awful.  I would be sore for weeks in a row, and I can’t even remember a time where I wasn’t sore my first year, actually.  I wanted to quit, and I hated myself for not being good enough.”

“I began to improve though, and began mixing up my shots, becoming stronger, and as you pointed out, gaining more stamina.  When I returned my second year, I was a starting outside and became captain my third year.  You see, Sawamura, even though it all sucked and broke me down in the moment, but I think it was worth it,” Akiyama trailed off, a gentle smile tugging at his lips.

“Wow,” Daichi raised his eyebrows.  “That’s really impressive, Akiyama-san.”

“Thanks.  Well, I wish we could talk more, but you want to get good, right?”

“Yes!”

“Then let’s get back to work”  Akiyama grabbed the ball cart and was tugging it back to the base line and was about to toss a ball up when the gym door opened, and Oikawa entered in.  The two were just as surprised to see him as he was to see them.

“Am I… interrupting something?” Oikawa tilted his head.

“No, it’s just my usual extra-practice with Akiyama-san,” Daichi replied.  “Why are you here?”

“Same reason you are.  To get better.”

“Why?”

“Well... you know.”

 

_“And now, the most important part of practice,” Hayashi-san announced as the players gathered around.  A whiteboard stood behind him, flipped around so nobody could see the other side.  “We will be discussing our starting line-up.  First off, though, I want to give you some advice, or information, that you should take to heart.”_

_“These spots are not what I would call temporary, but you should always be on your guard.  Just because you might be on the court today doesn’t mean you will be on the court tomorrow.  Everyone is replaceable, so remember that.  If you’re starting, fight to keep that spot, strive to always improve.  If you’re not starting,_ want _that spot.  Prove that you’re able to compete on the court and be the best.”_

_“So here it is.”  The coach flipped the board around, all the players seeming to hold their breath._

_Setter: Ikeda_

_Left Wing Spikers: Akiyama and Bokuto_

_Right Wing Spiker: Ushijima_

_Middle Blockers: Oshiro and Fukui_

_Liberos: Sawamura & Kita _

_Daichi scanned the line-up and glanced over at Oikawa and Kuroo, who happened to be standing right next to each other.  Kuroo had a neutral face, with the slightest trace of a frown, but Daichi could tell he was determined to get on that court, even though he was the shortest middle blocker._

_Oikawa’s face, though, was different.  It displayed understanding, but was cool at the same time.  His eyes shifted, taking the board in, as Hayashi talked about something, ‘positions not being permanent.’  Daichi listened absentmindedly as he watched the setter clench his fists, looking down at his hands._

 

“Oikawa, want to toss for me?” Akiyama inquired.

“Of course!”  Oikawa jogged under the net as Akiyama pulled the ball cart over to behind the attack line.  With a clever grin, Akiyama threw the ball, Oikawa tossing perfectly to Akiyama’s preferred spot.  His body language showed he was going to hit line, but his hand seemed as if it were going to turn the other way.   _Where is the ball going…?_

Daichi lunged forward as the ball flew down the line, where he ended up getting a touch on it, but it bounced off of his hand and onto the left side of the court.  With a ‘tsk,’ Daichi picked himself up and looked at a smirking Akiyama.

“I saw you thinking, Sawamura,” Akiyama crossed his arms.  “Let’s keep working.”

 

* * *

 

One grueling practice later, the guys were back at their apartment, relaxing and waiting.  Oikawa was even crazier than usual, talking continuously as he waited for Iwaizumi to come over.  Bokuto, Kuroo, and Ushijima were making fun of him, but Daichi knew that Bokuto and Kuroo would be the same way if it were Kenma and Akaashi.  And then there was Ushijima, who didn’t have any love interests (as far as they knew).

“Kuroo, bro,” Bokuto leapt up from his spot on the couch, his phone in hand.  “Look at this!”  Suddenly a song began blaring from the small device.  Kuroo’s eyebrows furrowed for a moment before his entire face lit up and he looked at Bokuto, who was equally excited.

“We have to do this!”

“Someone film us, someone else play music!”  The two began scrambling around as Ushijima and Daichi watched, amused, Oikawa completely oblivious and in his own little world.

“What is it?” Ushijima questioned.

“There’s this dance going viral,” Bokuto explained.  “It’s like…” he paused for a moment as he began trying to pronounce the English.  “Wake up in the morning… and I ‘dab,’ and I… pull up on the block?  ‘Cause today I get to… _‘whip’_ and… you know my top… drop.”

“Wow, Bokuto speaks English?” Daichi asked, the other three laughing in response.

“I’d like to see you try!” Bokuto stuck his tongue out as the two cleared some space so they could do their dance.

“I focus my physical abilities on volleyball, dancing doesn't really interest me," Ushijima commented.

“Ushijima, you’re in charge of the music!  Just press play and we’ll begin, okay?” Kuroo instructed.

“Okay.  1, 2, 3, go.”  The music began playing and the two flailed their limbs around, attempting to recreate the ‘badass’ dance.  Daichi and Ushijima watched, shocked, as their arms moved in bizarre patterns, along with being completely off-beat.

“Bro, that was great!” Bokuto exclaimed as the two ran over and looked at the phone in Daichi’s hands (he had Bokuto’s phone to film).  Their faces morphed from excitement to dismay when they saw how awful they were.

“Oh my _god_!” Kuroo shrieked.  “We look like dying crows!”

“Hey!”  Daichi countered.

“What the fuck!  I felt like I was doing _awesome_ ,” Bokuto brought his hand to his chin.

“You guys looked like puppets being controlled by a two year old,” Oikawa commented, finally snapping back to reality.

“Shut up!  Like you could do better,” Kuroo scoffed.

“Oh, I _can._  Music, please!”  Oikawa clapped his hands twice and Ushijima pressed play.  Oikawa hopped around, moving in time to the beat of the song, and executed each move.  He added some of his own pizzazz and creativity as well, kicking his feet up or swaying his hips.  Bokuto and Kuroo’s jaws were nearly on the ground, and even though they hadn’t seen the original video, Daichi and Ushijima were pleasantly surprised.

“That’s how you dance, boys.”  Oikawa flipped his hair with an air of laughter, Daichi chuckling as Bokuto and Kuroo looked at each other in astonishment.  Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door and Oikawa screamed, scaring everyone else, and ran towards the door.  He flung it open, Daichi yelling, “You’re going to rip it off its hinges!”  Iwaizumi stood there, his face looking slightly surprised, as Oikawa leapt onto him.

The three other roommates began howling loudly (Ushijima just raised his eyebrows), never seeing Oikawa so clingy before.  Iwaizumi held Oikawa’s back and stumbled into the apartment, putting Oikawa down on the floor.

“This isn’t exactly how I wanted to enter, but hi,” Iwaizumi greeted politely, looking at Oikawa, who was still squealing.

“Nice to see you again,” Daichi greeted, extending his hand.  Iwaizumi shook it firmly, a friendly smile on his face.

“Hello, Iwaizumi,” Ushijima nodded, Iwaizumi returning the gesture.

“My, my, Iwaizumi!” Bokuto gasped, grabbing Iwaizumi’s arm.  “You got some guns!”

“Oh, um,” A pink blush enveloped Iwaizumi’s cheeks, as he looked away.

“He’s mine, fuck off!” Oikawa leapt up and hugged Iwaizumi by the shoulders pulled him in close.

“I’m just kidding,” Bokuto chuckled, shaking Iwaizumi’s hand as the latter was nearly suffocated by Oikawa.

“Nice to see you all,” Iwaizumi grinned.  “Especially you, Trashykawa.”

“Iwa-chan, you’re so mean!”

“Trashykawa?” Kuroo almost spit his water out.  “You call him that?”

“Along with Shittykawa, Assikawa, Crapp-“

“Don’t give them any ideas!” Oikawa pouted, crossing his arms.  Iwaizumi grinned and hugged Oikawa, a real hug.  Bokuto and Kuroo shouted, “Aw!” at the top of their lungs in response; Daichi couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy as the couple embraced as he thought about Suga.

“Iwa-chan…” Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi’s hand and attempted to drag him towards his and Bokuto’s bedroom.

“How are things here?” Iwaizumi ignored Oikawa, sitting down at the dining table where Daichi and Ushijima sat.

“They’re… going,” Daichi replied with a grin.  “Nah, school’s going well, volleyball is fun… and things here are always interesting.”

“I’m sure they are,” Iwaizumi laughed as Oikawa sat down next to him, still holding his hand.

“Kuroo, do you still have that video of us trying to eat those pickles?” Bokuto asked.

“Of course, dude,” Kuroo smirked, pulling up a video on his phone.  Daichi sat there, horrified, as the two idiots showed Iwaizumi a video of them trying to eat huge pickles in two bites.  Iwaizumi was cracking up, as expected, as Kuroo and Bokuto returned to their seats.

“I regret going to TIU,” Iwaizumi said after they joked around some.  “Things are pretty chill here.”

“Chill isn’t exactly the word I would use,” Daichi sighed.

“So how’s volleyball going?” Iwaizumi questioned.

“Good!” most of the people responded.

“Yeah, and we have a new libero.  Let’s hope he doesn’t choke when it’s showtime,” Oikawa joked, his eyes glinting mischievously.  Daichi snorted in laughter.

“Oikawa, I'm dismayed you are not setting for me," Ushijima said.

“You’re not starting?” Iwaizumi turned to Oikawa, the atmosphere of the room turning from lighthearted to serious.

“Dammit, Ushijima,” Oikawa swore.  “I didn’t want to talk about this today.  But no, I’m not starting.  We just got our line-up yesterday, though, and I’m going to work hard and practice extra – “

“No,” Iwaizumi suddenly cut him off.  “You’re not.”

“Hajime,” Oikawa glanced towards the rest of the group, who watched on in surprise as the situation unfolded.

“No, don’t ‘Hajime’ me,” Oikawa’s boyfriend snapped.  “I know it sucks that you’re not starting, but you can’t stay and practice more and harder.  I won’t let you.”

“Hajime, you can’t control me and what I do!” Oikawa yelled, his eyes blazing with anger.  “I’m going to work my ass of for that starting position and I will do whatever it takes!”

“No!” Iwaizumi stood up, hitting his fist against the table.  “You’re going to repeat middle school all over again!  Sometimes I wonder what the fuck goes on in your head.”

“Swear jar,” Kuroo muttered, before earning a punch in the arm from Daichi.

“No, I won’t,” Oikawa calmly replied, even though it was obvious he was equally angry.  “I can control myself now, and I know when too much is – “

“That’s the thing!  You don’t know when too much is too much!  You’re going to hurt yourself, Tooru,” Iwaizumi ran a hand through his hair.

“Um – “ Daichi was cut off by Oikawa, who was glancing at the former with his cool brown eyes.

“Hajime, why don’t we talk in private?” the setter demanded.  Iwaizumi practically dragged Oikawa to the room and slammed the door, where more yelling ensued.  Despite Ushijima’s and Daichi’s protests, Kuroo and Bokuto made their way over to the door and pressed their ears against it.

“If you work hard in practice and get quality reps, you’ll improve without having to stay late and – “

“I need to stay late if I want to get better!”

“No, Tooru!  You’re going to overwork yourself and _get hurt_.  You don’t know when to stop!”

“I just want to make _me_ proud and make you proud, Hajime!  Watching from the side just isn’t enough for me.”

“Why would you do this for me?!”

“Because you work so hard and I want to be there, right alongside you!”

“Tooru – “  Suddenly, their room became quieter, and Bokuto and Kuroo pressed their ears against the door, before gasping and looking at each other.

“They’re making out!” Bokuto whispered much-too-loudly.

“Shut up and leave them alone!” Daichi fired, and the two actually stepped away.  The four roommates all sat at the table quietly, fiddling with their hands or on their phones.  Kuroo was making stupid faces and taking snapchats, much to the other’s hilarity.  He then began drawing on the screen before turning the screen to everyone else.  He had drawn cat ears and whiskers onto his face, and it showed at the bottom that it was going to Kenma.

“Your boyfriend?” Bokuto teased, raising his eyebrows.

“Shut up,” Kuroo rolled his eyes, his tone not quite as joking as before.

“You miss Kenma?” Daichi asked.

“Yeah,” Kuroo sighed, putting his phone down.  “It’s so weird, because we literally spent, like, every day together, for _hours_.  And then some.”

Bokuto wiggled his eyebrows.  “And then some?!”

“Shut up, bro.  But then, all of a sudden, we don’t really have time to see each other with our conflicting schedules.”

“I mean, at least you two are on the same continent,” Ushijima added his input, glancing at Daichi.

“That’s true.  Sorry, Daichi.”

“It’s okay, we’re getting by.  Wait, aren’t you guys supposed to be trying to get a video of you guys dancing or something stupid?”

“Oh yeah!” Bokuto and Kuroo hopped up and ran towards the center of the room, sliding on the floor, before resuming their positions.  Daichi and Ushijima played the music and filmed, even through all the fails (Bokuto accidentally hitting Kuroo in the face, Kuroo hitting his foot against a table, and many more failures).  Daichi managed to get a video of one of their unsuccessful attempts, when Bokuto slipped and fell backwards onto the couch, where everyone else burst out laughing.

“Oh my god,” Daichi sputtered in between laughs, where he hit send on snapchat to Suga.  The two dancing idiots regrouped, trying not to snicker, when Daichi was happily surprised to see a response from Suga.  His silver-haired boyfriend was softly smiling, his hand on his chin, with the caption “ _I don’t even want to know.”_ Daichi felt himself grinning and replied back seconds later, a picture of him rolling his eyes.  The two traded some more pictures, Daichi screenshotting Suga’s every time.  Suga called him out, with a picture of one of his eyebrows raised: “ _so many screenshots?? <3” _  Daichi responded with a thumbs up and a “ _Of course”_.

“Oh my god!” Bokuto screeched, breaking Daichi’s concentration.  The Karasuno-alum looked up to see Bokuto and Kuroo staring at each other, their mouths wide open and their eyes excited.  “That was the best one yet!  That was the best one in _history_!”

“Hell yeah!” Kuroo and Bokuto high-fived.  “Let’s see the video!”

“Oh, shoot,” Daichi rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin.  “I was snapchatting Suga, so I didn’t film.”

“DAMMIT!” Bokuto yelled, dropping to the floor on his knees.

“Chill, bro,” Kuroo reassured.  “We’ll get the next one.”  Suddenly, he stopped talking and stood a little taller, leaning towards the direction of Oikawa’s room.

“This is such – “

“Shut up,” Kuroo shushed.  The two walked over towards the room, tip-toeing, towards the room.  A muffled sounds was heard from their room, to which Kuroo and Bokuto began screaming in amusement.

“Oh my god!” Kuroo was about to start crying from laughing so hard, where he collapsed to the floor in a ball and clutched his stomach.

“Oh, Iwa-chan!” Bokuto impersonated Oikawa, his face twisting in pain, before snorts interrupted his impression.

“Harder, Iwa-chan, harder!” Kuroo joined in, the two raising the pitch of their voices.  In between snickers, they kept throwing comments out, each one getting worse than the next.  They also began hitting the wall, and adding their own moans.

“IWA-CHAN, I’M COMING!” Bokuto screamed, to which even Daichi began dying of laughter, and Ushijima offered a smile.  Daichi had taken a video of the whole thing, and was still filming, when the best part came.

“Shut the fuck up!” Oikawa’s voice escaped through the walls.  “At least I get some!” Howling laughter followed afterwards, and Daichi sent the video to almost everyone in his contact list.  In the subsequent minutes, he got a variety of snapchats back, making the whole situation even funnier.

Kuroo and Bokuto attempted their stupid dance a few more times, but they kept laughing in the middle and ruining the whole thing.  They were slap-happy, and the both of them together was already a mix from hell.  Their moves were sloppy and out of time, and Daichi and Ushijima just stared at each other, shaking their heads.

“Well, hello,” Oikawa and Iwaizumi walked out of the room.

“Everything figured out?” Kuroo snorted.

“Yup!” Oikawa beamed happily.

“I guess,” Iwaizumi shrugged.

“Are you guys still trying to get this goddamn video?” Oikawa questioned.  “Step aside, ladies.  Kuroo, you’re on the right, I’m in the middle, and Bokuto, you’ll be on the left.”

“Oya oya, we’re doing three people?’

“That’s what she said.”

“Not to you,” Kuroo retorted.

“Okay, get ready.  Ushijima, control the music, and you, Daichi, and Iwaizumi will film,” Oikawa took charge.  “3, 2, 1, go!”

Ushijima played the music and somehow, for some reason, the three people clicked.  Their moves were pretty sick, and they were completely in time, too.  They each had their own interpretation of the dance, which actually made it look even better, but they all looked relatively good while doing it.

“Yes!” the 3 cheered, running over to the phones (each person had held 2 phones).  They watched the video, all freaking out, as they saw how cool they looked.

“We are bosses.”

“We should be dancers!”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome,” Oikawa bowed sarcastically before straightening up.  “That is so awesome!  I have to save it, post it on my story, and send it to everyone.”  Daichi had posted his on his story with the caption _“just a typical Saturday.”_  The whole group was laughing and joking around, so Daichi walked over to the kitchenette and grabbed a soda.  When he turned back around, he saw Iwaizumi standing there, looking at his feet.  Daichi almost jumped back in surprise, not expecting him to be standing there.

“Oh, sorry, Daichi,” Iwaizumi apologized.

“No, it’s fine,” Daichi lightly chuckled.

“Can I ask you a favor?”

“Um, yeah,” Daichi set the can down.  “What’s up?”

“Can you… watch out for Oikawa for me?” Iwaizumi asked, his hazel eyes searching Daichi’s.  “I’m not always going to be here because even though we… _talked_ things out, I don’t think he’ll listen to me.”

“Oh, yeah,” Daichi replied.  “So what does that mean, exactly?  Watching out for him?”

“Just making sure he doesn’t stay late after practice, watching out for injury…” Iwaizumi trailed off, before gesturing to Oikawa.  “He has knee problems, so if he starts limping or showing pain, then something’s off.”

“Alright.”

“Here’s my phone number, so if anything seems ‘off’ just give me a call.”

“Okay.”

“Please watch out for him,” Iwaizumi began walking away, before turning around.  “Or I will fucking – “

“I know how you feel,” Daichi grabbed Iwaizumi’s shoulder gently.  “I would want someone to watch out for Suga.”

“Alright,” Iwaizumi offered a tight-lipped smile.  “Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“Trashykawa, I have to get back home,” Iwaizumi called to the setter, interrupting the ensuing chaos between the other roommates.

“NO!  Iwa-chan!” Oikawa wailed, leaping onto Iwaizumi.

“Sorry, I have practice tonight,” Iwaizumi shrugged, holding onto his taller boyfriend.  “You can come out to my car with me.”

“Fine.”  Oikawa continued to pout as Iwaizumi carried him out of the apartment room, leaving Ushijima, Bokuto, Kuroo, and Daichi.

“Well, that was interesting,” Kuroo commented.

“And – “

“Don’t even say it,” Daichi cut Bokuto off.  “Okay, gather round for a sec, this is serious.”  The other 3 looked at one another, perplexed, before standing around Daichi.  “So Iwaizumi asked me to watch out for Oikawa and make sure he doesn’t overwork himself and stuff.  So if you notice anything, just tell me and I’ll let Iwaizumi know.”

“Why should we care?” Bokuto questioned.

“Because pissed-off Iwaizumi and upset Oikawa are two things I do not want to deal with,” Daichi shot back.   _And I would feel the same about Suga…_

“Fair point,” Kuroo agreed.

“Hey hey hey!” Bokuto had darted away from them and was standing over at the window, opening it and leaning out.  “Hey, lovebirds!”  Everyone else gathered around and saw Oikawa and Iwaizumi kissing, leaning against Iwaizumi’s car.  An assortment of hoots, whistles, and comments were thrown out the window, to which Oikawa responded with the finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> this is probably one of my favorite chapters so far! I am at some point going to finish my little bit about what happens when the room goes quiet.... so that's going to happen eventually...
> 
> here's the link to a video of the dance that these idiots spent an entire day trying to master:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixK27DNAYqo
> 
> and the fist sketches of the rest of the UT team!  
> http://trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com/post/144552616935/haikyuuliberos-the-first-rough-sketches-for-our
> 
> for more tid bits, art, and hcs, check out mine or haikyuuliberos tumblrs under the tags captains college au or just college au!
> 
> ~trashcan_kitty


	9. Not Dead (Yet)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where (boy)friends come over, the power goes out, and Ushijima likes plants.

Daichi stuck his key into the door of his apartment and walked in with a tired sigh.  He had been tutoring high school students for two hours, which was a good way to make money (and get experience to become a teacher), but it was like doing extra school, so it was tiring.  Daichi raised his eyebrows when he saw Kuroo and Kenma, along with Bokuto and Akaashi at the dining room table.

“What’s up?” Daichi asked as they all turned to look at him.  “Hey, Kenma and Akaashi.  Welcome.”

“Hello, Sawamura-san,” Akaashi greeted, while Kenma just waved lightly.

“WE HAVE FRIENDS!” Bokuto screeched, to which Akaashi shushed him.

“Kuroo’s helping us study,” Akaashi shook his head.

“Yeah,” Kenma muttered.

“I’m so good at helping,” Kuroo boasted, puffing his chest out.  Rolling his eyes, Daichi slipped his backpack off and set it on a chair in the dining room before walking over to the fridge and grabbing some food to reheat.

“I guess I get the pull-out tonight,” Daichi commented, as he spooned noodles and vegetables out of a container and into a bowl to heat up.

“Actually, Oikawa isn’t home yet,” Kuroo replied after explaining something to Kenma.

“Oh.  Wait, why are there… plants?” Daichi gestured to three pots with little plants in them, sitting on the kitchen counter by the sink.

“Oh, I don’t know, Ushijima brought those home,” Kuroo chuckled.

“He’s probably a tree hugger,” Bokuto joked.

“He probably likes plants like you love owls, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi quietly commented, causing everyone else to erupt in laughter.

“That’s different!”

“Bokuto, you’re so weak!” Kuroo yelped as Bokuto punched him in the arm, and the two began wrestling on the floor.  Kenma and Akaashi looked at each other, disapproving, as Daichi grabbed his dinner and sat down at the dining room table as Kuroo and Bokuto, both with messed up hair and wrinkled shirts, sat back down.

“Jesus, what the fuck Bo,” Kuroo rubbed the back of his neck.  “That hurt.”

“Sorry,” Bokuto apologized.

“So, anyways, Kenma,” Kuroo continued on.  “You have to move this to the other side of the equation, square root it, divide it by 3…”

“And then, oh okay,” Kenma mumbled.  “That makes sense.”

“And Akaashi, you understand yours?”

“Yes, thank you, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi nodded his head.

“Kuroo, what are you learning right now?” Daichi asked.

“Actually, I have no fucking idea,” the bedhead made a face as he grabbed his textbook and opened it up.  “I have a 95 in the class, but I have no goddamn idea about what we’re learning right now.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Daichi assured.  “You’re smart.”

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask you, Kuroo,” Kenma put his pencil down and brushed his hair out of his face.  “Are you sure you’re alright?  Our text conversations –”

“I’m fine,” Kuroo curtly interrupted, looking away.  “School’s just a little stressful, but it’s fine.”

“Whatever you say,” Kenma grabbed his PSP and turned it on, immediately sucked into the device.

“I really don’t give a shit about school,” Bokuto shrugged.

“Bokuto-san, that’s not a good way to look at things,” Akaashi told him.

“I’m here for _volleyball_ , Akaashi.”

“But you’re also going to need an education for your life as an adult, Bokuto-san.”

“Akaashi, are you my mom?”

“Yes,” Akaashi sighed, scribbling in his notebook.  Daichi almost choked on his takeout.

“Akaashi, I admire the way you keep Bokuto reined-in,” he remarked.  “We have no control of him, especially with Kuroo here.”

“What’s wrong with me?!”

“Nothing, Kuroo.”

“I honestly don’t know,” Akaashi answered without glancing up.  “It’s a lot of hard work, but usual sending him pictures of owls keeps him in check.”

“Did you know I have a whole photo album on my phone for the pictures of owls you send me?”

“Relationship goals,” Kuroo kidded.  The group heard a door open and turned around to see Ushijima walk into the room, wearing athletic shorts and an old Shiratorizawa t-shirt.

“Ushiwaka, why do you have plants?” Bokuto blurted, earning a disappointed look from Akaashi.

“Because I, uh, I like… plants,” Ushijjima stuttered.  “I think they’re… cute.”  A deep blush covered his cheeks as Kuroo and Bokuto burst out laughing.

“They’re _cute_ , he says!” Bokuto screeched, Akaashi trying to quiet him down.

“Bokuto-san,” Kenma didn’t even look up from his game.  “You were the one that just said you had an album on your phone for owl pictures.”  More laughter ensued, and this time, it was Bokuto’s face that became red.  Daichi picked up his empty bowl and carried it to the sink, beginning to wash dishes (because everyone else was lazy and didn’t).  The group of people sitting at the table, including Ushijima, conversed lightly and easily, and Daichi couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.  Even though they weren’t “together,” it was obvious that there were sparks between Kuroo and Kenma, along with Akaashi and Bokuto.  Daichi accidentally let a bowl slip out of his hands, as it clanged loudly against the sides of the sink.  Everyone whipped their heads around to face him, as he hastened to finish the dishes.

It had been about a week since Daichi had last talked on the phone with Suga, which was a little longer for them than normal but not surprising to either of them.  They still snapchatted and texted, but it wasn’t the same as hearing his voice, listening to his tone and really taking in what he had to say.  Skyping was also kind of hard for them, since they were basically on opposite sides of the world, but it always made Daichi ecstatic when they were able to find time; he was able to see Suga’s handsome features and the way his silver-hair gently framed his face.

“Sawamura-san, are you alright?” Akaashi’s voice pierced Daichi’s thoughts.  The latter realized he was just staring at the bowl in his hands, the water still running in front of him, as he hurriedly shut it off and began to dry the bowl.

“Yeah, I’m just tired,” Daichi lied.

“Daichi, you’re _never_ tired!” Bokuto yelled even though they were only a few feet away.  “You always have like 2 black coffees in the morning.”

“I’m not having black coffee before I go to bed,” Daichi responded.  “I’ll be up until, like, 3 in the morning.”

“I like mine - “ Suddenly, the room became much quieter, as the generator shut off, and then the lights flickered.  Once, twice, until they went out completely.  Bokuto and Kuroo screamed like little girls, slightly startling Kenma’s illuminated face (from his game).  A crash and thump were heard, and Bokuto and Kuroo began yelling to ask if the other was okay.

"If anyone is injured, I have a first-aid kit in the bathroom," Ushijima supplied.

“We are right next to each other, there is no need to scream,” Kenma exhaled.

“We have to make sure we’re okay!” Kuroo retorted, and it sounded like the chair was set back up.

“Akaashi,” Bokuto’s voice was quieter now that it was dark (was his volume based on how lit up the room was?).  “If we die, I want you to know I love you.”  The room went quiet for a moment, and Daichi almost heard everyone’s heads turning to face Bokuto.  Even Kenma paused his game and looked up, raising his eyebrows.

“I… love you too,” Akaashi replied casually.  “But we’re not going to die.”

“I ALMOST DIED!” the door flew open, and the group was nearly blinded by the flashlight of Oikawa’s phone.

“Where the hell were you?” Daichi couldn’t help but ask.  “It’s… 10:45, and your tutoring was supposed to end at 10:00.”

“Okay, _dad_ ,” Oikawa countered.  “We ended up finishing at 10:20, and it took me, like, 3 years to climb the stairs in the dark.”

“Drama-queen,” Kuroo snorted.

“Shut up!”

“I think I have a flashlight.  I’ll go see if I can make this place a little brighter,” Daichi said, grabbing his phone and using the device’s built-in flashlight to find his way to his room. After rummaging through his nightstand, he found his large flashlight and brought it out, setting it on the kitchen island so it lit up the dining room.

“Thank you, Sawamura-san,” Akaashi thanked for everyone.

“Call me Daichi, please,” Daichi chuckled lightly.  “Sawamura sounds weird.”

“What brings Kenma and Akaashi over?” Oikawa questioned after grabbing a soda from the fridge (that wasn’t running).

“We came over to study,” Akaashi explained.  “How are you, Oikawa-san?”

“I’m just dandy.”

“Oikawa, you smell disgusting,” Ushijima complained.

“Sorry that I didn’t have time to shower in between practice and tutoring!” Oikawa argued.  “And now the showers aren’t running.”

“Just our luck,” Daichi muttered to himself.  Kenma’s thumbs clicked aggressively on his PSP, when suddenly, his face became dark, the light emitted from the game screen completely gone.  

“I was just… I was just about to defeat the demon king,” he whispered.

“Kenma…” Kuroo’s voice was softer than usual.

“I was… I had one more hit.”

“Kenma-”

“I was literally about to beat this level!” Kenma’s voice, even though it was just barely louder than a normal talking voice, rose dramatically.

“Calm down - “

“I was about to-” Kenma’s voice was cut off and the group stared, their jaws nearly on the floor, as Kuroo grabbed Kenma’s face and brought it towards his own.  The two kissed for a moment before Kenma looked at Kuroo, surprise written all over his expression, even in the dark.  Their stared at each other's faces, and Daichi couldn’t help but smile slightly as he witnessed the duo’s realization.  Kenma stood up abruptly and grabbed Kuroo’s arm, pulling him to one of the bedrooms (Ushijima’s and Daichi’s, unfortunately).

“Are they going to…?” Oikawa trailed off.

“No,” Bokuto and Akaashi replied in unison.

“Kenma doesn’t seem like that kind of person, anyways,” Oikawa muttered.

“But Kuroo does?” Daichi laughed.

“Possibly!  Maybe!"

“Akaashi, can we - “

“No, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi cut off the wing-spiker.

“BUT _AKAASHI_!”

“Maybe later.”

“Maybe later?!” Oikawa spewed soda everywhere, earning a “Clean that up!” from Daichi.

“Oikawa and Iwa-ch - ugh, Iwaizumi fucked in their bedroom!"

"That's nice."

"Bokuto, have you been keeping up on your swear jar payments?" Ushijima inquired.

"Yes, I have! And my rent!" Bokuto smugly grinned.

“He’s actually been giving me his money,” Daichi answered.  “I just wonder how he pays enough for the swear jar.”

“Oh, my parents pay for rooming because I'm on a full-ride,” Bokuto explained, waving his hand in the air and almost hitting Akaashi.  “I pay for the swear jar with my job money.”

“Kuroo, too,” Ushijima thought aloud.  “How does he pay?”

“He works at a library or some shit,” Bokuto shrugged.

“He told me he works customer service at the library,” Akaashi cleared up.  “He doesn’t actually shelve books and do a lot related to the books, but he helps people with returns and find what they’re looking for.”

“There's the truth,” Daichi laughed.  Suddenly, he felt a buzzing come from his lap, where his phone sat.  Suga’s bright face lit up the screen: it was a phone call.  Disregarding the 15% charge that his phone was at, Daichi left the room and went into Oikawa’s/Bokuto’s bedroom, closing the door behind him.

“Hey, Koushi.”

“Hey, Daichi!” Suga’s happy voice bubbled through the phone.  “It’s probably late there, but how are you?  I just finished getting ready for class and decided to call.”

“I’m glad you did,” Daichi bit his bottom lip, smiling like an idiot.  “Things here are interesting, as usual.  The power’s out, Akaashi is over and hanging out with Bokuto, and Kenma and Kuroo just realized they liked each other.”

“Things are never dull in the ‘captain’s apartment,’” Suga commented, a laugh trailing at the end of his words.

“I miss you so much,” Daichi blurted, not regretting it.

“I miss you too.”

“My phone is going to die, shit.  And I can’t plug it in.”

“Did Daichi, _my_ Daichi, just swear?” Suga sarcastically gasped through the phone.

“Koushi,” Daichi shook his head, even though it wasn’t visible to his significant other.

“I love you, you know that.”  Daichi could almost visualize Suga’s bright smile.

“I love you too.”

“And I just - “ Suddenly, the phone cut off, and Daichi whipped his phone away from his ear, staring at the black screen in disappointment.  His sudden happiness began to fizzle out, but he knew he should be thankful that he and Suga had actually talked for a few minutes.   _The phone call wouldn’t have been that much longer, right?_

Daichi, shaking his head at his stupid phone, stepped out of the room and back into what had apparently become chaos.  Ushijima, Bokuto, and Oikawa were all debating over something (probably stupid), as Akaashi looked at Daichi.  His face clearly showed, “ _I’m suffering_.”

“No, no!” Bokuto stood up, his chair flying backwards.  “Glacier freeze is the best!  Everything else is a conspiracy!”

“No!” Oikawa threw his hands up.  “You’ve obviously never had lemon-lime.”

“Actually, even though gatorade provides electrolytes, water is best for the body," Ushijima stated.

“NO!” Bokuto and Oikawa wailed.

“Why are we debating over something this stupid?” Daichi quietly asked Akaashi as the 3 others resumed their argument.

“I don’t even know at this point.  I give you props for dealing with them all,” Akaashi glanced towards Daichi.

“Me too.”

“What’s all this debating about?  I feel the need to join,” Kuroo stormed into the room.  Kenma followed behind, just barely holding onto the back of Kuroo’s shirt.

“Which gatorade is the best?” Oikawa demanded.

“Rain berry!”

“NO!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you all enjoy this chapter, it was fun to write :) We're glad some of the other kids are getting time in the story!
> 
> here are the rough sketches of the oc's (even though they aren't in this chapter):  
> http://trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com/post/144552616935/haikyuuliberos-the-first-rough-sketches-for-our
> 
> Hope you all have a lovely day! <3  
> -haikyuuliberos


	10. Respect Your Senpais

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where UT scrimmages some high schoolers, players get too-fired-up, and Daichi receives a nice snapchat.

“I am so ready to kick ass!” Bokuto yelled, pumping his fist in the air.  The team was on their way to Fukurodani right then, to scrimmage the powerhouse high school in preparation for the collegiate season (and to help the high-schoolers prepare for their tournaments).

“You’re ready to beat your own former team?” Daichi asked, looking up from his phone.

“Well…”

“You’d better be!” Akiyama yelled from the back of the bus.  “No holding back!”

“I wasn’t planning on it!” Bokuto replied snappily.

“Bokuto, have more respect for you senpais,” Oshiro commented dryly.

“I keep forgetting I’m not a third-year anymore.”

“It’s been… 4 months since we’ve entered college," Daichi said.

“I still feel like a third year!”

“Sure, _senpai_ ,” Oikawa snorted.

“I’m being ambushed!” Bokuto fell back into his seat on the bus, his legs flailing in the air as he laid on top of Kuroo.

“You first years sure are something,” Tachibana commented, running his hand through his red-tipped hair.  “This is our most exciting season yet.”

“Excuse me?” Kita peeked in from a few seats back.  “Tachibana, you and Minami were the ones that – “

“Oh please, no,” Minami mumbled.

“ – got drunk while underage _and_ went and got tattoos and piercings.  As first years.”

“That sounds awesome!” Bokuto and Kuroo exclaimed in unison.  Daichi and Ushijima face-palmed as Kita laughed at an embarrassed Minami and a proud Tachibana.

“It was _so_ dope,” Tachibana replied.  “See?  I have my tongue ring and this tattoo.”  The eccentric hitter stuck his tongue out and raised his shirt, revealing a tribal-inspired tattoo covering his ribcage.

“What about you, Minami-san?” Kuroo inquired.

“I…” Minami rolled his eyes before lifting his sleeve up, a snake tattoo wrapping around his arm.

“That’s so cool!” Bokuto grabbed the elder’s arm and looked at it, the latter yanking his arm back.

“I hate it,” Minami snorted.  “I was super drunk and stupid Tachibana convinced me to get it.”

“You _love_ it,” Tachibana teased.

“Shut up.”

“We’re here!” Akiyama’s voice interrupted all the conversations on the bus.  An assortment of excited whoops and cheering followed as the players grabbed their sports bags, dismounting from the vehicle.  Daichi took a deep breath of air and, with a confident grin, began following the group as they walked into the Fukurodani gym.

Having never been there, he took in the massive space.  With Fukurodani being a powerhouse for volleyball, they had quite the luxurious gym space.  The floors were shiny and newly-waxed, and there was room for two courts to be set up, even though only one currently was.  There were also large bleachers surrounding the area, but since it was only a practice match, there weren’t many bystanders.

“Home sweet home!” Bokuto cried out, flinging his arms away from his side and almost smacking Tachibana.

“Welcome!” Fukurodani’s coach, Coach Yamiji, greeted openly.

“Thank you again,” Coach Hayashi began conversing with the other coach, as they were apparently old friends.

“Nekoma should be here in about an hour, so we can start with our scrimmage?” Coach Yamiji offered.

“Sounds great,” UT’s coach replied.  “Hey, go get ready and meet back here in 5 minutes!”  The team set their bags down in the corner of the gym and began putting their equipment on.  Daichi noticed Bokuto looking around anxiously, his golden eyes flickering.

“Looking for Akaashi?” Daichi couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course!” Bokuto said too-loudly.

“They visisted around 2 weeks ago, correct?” Ushijima mentioned.

“It’s _different_!  I get to see him as a captain now!” Bokuto quickly slid his light blue practice jersey over his head before standing up.  Thunderous footsteps and the squeaking of shoes were heard, and Fukurodani’s team appeared.  The third-years of the team, Akaashi, a pin hitter, and a middle, looked confident as they lead the team.

“AKAASHI!” Bokuto howled, bounding towards the setter, who was holding some balls in his arms.  With a scared look on his face, Akaashi dropped the balls, letting them bounce everywhere, as Bokuto leapt into his arms.  Akaashi managed to catch the spiky-haired hitter, and had an unamused look on his face.

“Hello, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi returned the greeting.  “I have to pick up all these balls _you made me drop_.”

“I’m sorry, I was just so excited to see you!”

“...I'm glad to see you, too."

“Really?”  Bokuto climbed off of the new-captain, still smiling broadly.

“Hey, lovebird!” Akiyama called across the gym.  “Let’s start warming up, shall we?”  The other UT players snickered in response as Bokuto jogged over, sulking.

“Oh, cheer up, buddy,” Tachibana slapped Bokuto’s back as he joined the rest of his team, jogging around the gym.

“I am cheery!” Bokuto assured, even though his eyes kept glancing back over to Akaashi.

“You’ll see him after the match,” Daichi told Bokuto as they jogged side-by-side.  

“And you can slam a ball towards him!” Oikawa added.

“I don’t want to _hurt_ him!”

“I think he’ll defend it quite easily.”

“Is that an insult?!”

“Sounded like one,” Kuroo threw in, a sly grin on his face.  Bokuto began screeching like a bird and ran away from everyone, and continued running around the gym even after the team stopped jogging.

“He brings pride to the name of UT,” Fukui sarcastically stated.

“Right?” Ikeda crossed his arms.

“Alright!” Coach Hayashi clapped his hands as the UT players gathered around.  They were all smiling excitedly, eager to play a team other than themselves.  “Even though you guys play at a higher level than them - “

“They play great!  You’ll see!” Bokuto interrupted, much to everyone’s dismay.

“Don’t interrupt!” Daichi jabbed Bokuto in the ribs, a huff escaping the latter’s mouth.

“As I was saying,” Hayashi paused.  “Even though you play at a higher level, don’t let up.  Stay aggressive and strong, but be prepared for their offense as well.  Their setter is quite skilled.”  Glancing at Bokuto, Daichi noticed his roommate appearing smug.

“So, let’s get on the court in our starting line-up!” Coach Hayashi ordered.  Daichi walked out onto the court, along with Akiyama, Ikeda, Oshiro, Ushijima, and Bokuto.  Akiyama walked around, high-fiving everyone before they took their starting spots.  Akaashi was across the net from Bokuto, seemingly studying the team.

“Akaashi, you’re going down!” Bokuto taunted.

“We’ll put up a fight,” Akaashi replied.

“You’re supposed to say you’re going to win!”

“We’ll win.”

“That’s the spirit!”

The whistle blew, interrupting their conversation.  Ikeda tossed the ball high into the air, slamming it aggressively as it flew over the net, nearly hitting the tape.  Fukurodani’s libero, a second-year new to the school, easily passed the ball to Akaashi.

“Well, remind me not to serve to him,” Ikeda remarked as he took his spot in right back.  Daichi snorted in laughter as Akaashi set the ball to Onaga, another third year, who hit the ball.  It went off of Oshiro’s hands, who yelled ‘Chance ball!’  Daichi easily passed the ball to target and Ikeda set up Ushijima, who hit the ball over the block and earned a kill for the team.

“Nice kill!” they all cheered.  Ushijima’s face stayed neutral, but his hazel eyes lit up as the players returned to their positions.

“Ikeda, don’t serve the libero!” Daichi joked, glancing back at the setter.  He laughed, bouncing the ball, and gave a thumbs up.  As soon as the whistle blew, Ikeda regained his cool composure and tossed the ball up, serving it to one of their first year wing-spikers.  To everyone’s surprise, the hitter received the ball right to Akaashi before transitioning out to hit.  He was probably around 6 feet tall, but his vertical got him even higher.  He slammed the ball, which landed a few feet away from a diving Daichi.  As he got back on his feet, Daichi circled up with his team.

“Who is that?” Akiyama questioned as the group glanced back at him.  The brunette hitter was humbly receiving praise from his team, including a grinning Akaashi.

“That’s Fukurodani’s newest player,” Bokuto answered.  He still seemed smug, but Daichi could tell he appeared… _threatened_?  “Mori is his name.  I’ve heard of him before.”

“Hm,” Akiyama tilted his head slightly sideways.  “Well, we’ve gotta keep an eye on him.  Let’s side out right here!”  The team nodded their heads and dispersed back to their positions, getting ready to receive Fukurodani’s serve.  Akaashi was standing at the end line, bouncing the ball as he waited to serve.  To everyone’s astonishment, Akaashi tossed the ball up high, performing an approach for a jump topspin serve.

“Jump serve?” the three receivers breathed as he contacted the ball.  Even though it wasn’t as powerful as Oikawa’s or some of the other college players serves, it definitely wasn’t a chance ball.  The ball hit Daichi platform, where it bounced up to meet Ikeda’s hands at the net.  With a mischievous glimmer in his brown eyes, Ikeda set Bokuto.  The spiker’s face lit up and he hit the ball, Akaashi’s arms touching the ball, but it spun off to the right.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Bokuto thundered, punching his arms out.  Akiyama held back laughter, along with the rest of the team, as Bokuto’s roommates just burst out laughing at his usual antics.

“Nice kill,” Ikeda slapped his shoulder as the group rotated.  

The rest of the first set went in a similar fashion.  UT powered through, easily receiving balls and hitting them back over, gaining a lead on Fukurodani; however, the high schoolers stayed in the game and managed to score points, mainly because of their new ace.  Daichi noticed how much more competitive Bokuto seemed with the presence of Mori.  Even with his overly enthusiastic glorification, Bokuto had an unsettling calm about him.  He seemed more calculative and analytical, if those words could even be used to describe him.

UT won the first set 25-16, and the next set, Coach Hayashi put the non-starters in (Oikawa, Tachibana, Minami, Kuroo, and switched Kita with Daichi, while Oshiro played again because there were only 3 middles on the team).  Even though the line-up was completely different, the team still worked together well and gained a lead on Fukurodani.  Daichi watched as Tachibana went up and spiked one of Oikawa’s flawless sets, hitting a difficult cut shot.  After he scored, the red/black haired third-year began whooping and hollering.

“That was an impressive spot," Ushijima praised.

“He bothers me,” Bokuto scoffed.

“Why?”

“Whenever he scores, he always freaks out.  Big deal!”

“Oh my _god_ ,” Daichi burst out laughing, and even Ushijima’s shoulders shook.

“What?!” Bokuto turned to them.  “I’m serious!”

“Oh, well, Bokuto...” Ushijima trailed off, not sure how to put his thoughts into words, and he looked at Daichi for assistance.

“Bokuto, you guys are almost the same person!” Daichi explained, still chuckling.

“How?”

“You both get overly excited, you’re both wing-spikers, you both have interesting hair… shall I continue you?”

“...no.”  The three diverted their attention back to the game and watched as Kuroo and Minami got a block against one of the wing spikers, sending the ball back to the ground.  “Ushiwaka, you’ve got some competition for right side!”

“I… know,” Ushijima cautiously replied, crossing his arms.  “We all do.”

“Who's my competition?”

“Tachibana.”

“No!”

“Oh shut up, you two,” Daichi sighed.  “We’re all lucky we’re a part of the starting line-up.  I know that Kita and I are neck and neck, and the other wing spikers are right up there with you.”

“That's true."

“Is all you first years do bicker?” Akiyama questioned from farther down the sideline.

“Yes,” Daichi responded.  The gym doors swung open and, even though the current play continued, the others watched as Nekoma entered the gym.  Their ace, Yamamoto, led the group with a confident smirk, followed by the rest of his team.  Lev stood as tall as ever in the center, making Kenma look even smaller than normal.

“And… there’s Nekoma,” Daichi announced to the other two.

“Who’s that tall guy?” Fukui, the other starting middle, thought aloud.

“That’s Haiba Lev,” Bokuto answered.  “He’s probably right around 196 centimeters now.”

“Jesus, he’s a monster,” Ikeda mumbled.

“Only if he can move around decently,” Akiyama added.  “If he can’t control his movements, he’s no use.”

“That’s the problem,” Bokuto made eye contact with Akiyama.  “He actually kind of  _can_.”

“AYO!” Tachibana drew everyone’s attention away and pumped his fist in the air after scoring the winning point, concluding the scrimmage against Fukurodani.  25-16 the first set, 25-17 the second.  The players all shook hands before returning to the bench, grabbing their drinks and quenching their thirst.

“Nice job, everyone,” Coach Hayashi praised.  “Just remember to close the block so we can heighten our defense… our receives were pretty solid, so that was good.  Besides that, I don’t really have anything else.  Get a drink and take a break, then be ready to play Nekoma!”  The group dispersed and grabbed their waters, Daichi chugging almost two full water bottles.  The rest of his roommates just shrugged, used to him drinking a lot of water, but the rest of the team looked at him incredulously.

Out of the corner of his eye, Daichi noticed Kuroo slip away like a cat; he slid behind some of their teammates and snuck towards a gathered Nekoma.  They were surrounding their team, with their new head coach (as Nekomata had retired), and Kuroo basically jumped on top of Kenma.  The new-third-year didn’t seem at all surprised, but almost fell over due to the force of Kuroo.  All of the returning players began laughing, while the new coach and the first-years looked completely shocked.  Daichi couldn’t hear what Kenma said, but Kuroo made a pouty-face and walked away with a wave.

“Rejected?” Bokuto slung his arm around his friend.

“Tragically,” Kuroo confirmed.  The two hugged each other tightly as Akaashi stood behind, sighing.

“Akaashi!  You didn’t tell me you were jump serving!” Bokuto quickly left Kuroo’s side and wrapped his arm around Fukurodani’s setter.  Akaashi had the slightest trace of a grin on his lips that quickly disappeared once Bokuto started ruffling his hair.  Bokuto let go, laughing loudly as Akaashi attempted to stroke his hair back into place.

“Yeah, that was surprising,” Daichi chuckled.

“I’ve been practicing since the beginning of this year,” Akaashi replied.  “I was inconsistent at first, but it’s getting there.”

“You almost aced Bokuto, so it must be pretty decent,” Oikawa threw in, and Bokuto and him started bickering.

“Can’t we just have a normal conversation?” Daichi rubbed his face.

“Apparently not.”

“UT, let’s get back out on the court!” Coach Hayashi called loudly, clapping his hands.  The players jogged back to the court and the starters made their way over to the court, stretching their arms and sizing up the other team.

Most of the Nekoma players were returners (as Kuroo, Kai, and Yaku were the only ones who left).  Their lineup consisted of Kenma, Fukunaga, Inuoka, a first-year wing-spiker, Yamamoto, Lev, and Shibayama.  Kenma and Fukunaga looked indifferent to the whole situation, but the rest of the team was completely fired up.  Yamamoto was yelling nonsense, which riled up the rest of his team, and they all warmed up.  Lev and Kenma had obviously worked on their connection a lot more, and the middle smashed the ball into the attack line multiple times.

“Jesus,” Fukui muttered.  “That’ll be fun to block.”

“It’s not as hard as you would think,” Kuroo said with a light tone.

“Oh yeah, you played at Nekoma last year,” Akiyama noted.

“Yeah,” Kuroo nodded his head.  “He’s definitely improved since last year, but we’ll be able to block him, or at least pick up his hits.”  Kuroo glanced back at Daichi with his shit-eating grin to which Daichi kicked his calf.

“Enough chit-chat, let’s get started!” Coach Hayashi interrupted the conversation.  “Starting line-up on the court to start.”  Oshiro, Akiyama, Ikeda, Bokuto, Ushijima, and Daichi all jogged out onto the court into their positions, Daichi examining Nekoma’s line-up.  Inuoka was front row, along with Yamamoto and the first-year.  The first-year was probably a little shorter than Daichi, but taller than Kenma.

“Let’s make a pass, right here!” Akiyama encouraged, clapping his hands.  The receivers crouched down, preparing for Kenma’s serve.  The setter tossed the ball and contacted it, the serve being successfully passed by Bokuto.

“Nice receive!” Daichi called.  Ikeda set the ball up for Akiyama, who relentlessly struck the ball in a straight shot.  Kenma dove out of the way, instead of towards the ball, as Shibayama threw his body across the floor and landed about a meter away.

“Kozume!” Nekoma’s new coach yelled.  “Move _towards_ the ball, not _away_!”  Kenma visibly exhaled before circling up with his team to discuss their next play.  Daichi snuck a glance at Kuroo, whose countenance displayed a mixture of amusement and support for Kenma.

“Ikeda, nice serve!” Oshiro called back to the setter.  Ikeda ran his hand through his pulled-back hair before tossing the ball up and hitting it to the opposing team.  His shock was obvious as Shibayama received the ball easily, allowing Kenma to set Yamamoto.  The enthusiastic ace swung aggressively, but Daichi was able to dig the ball back up.

“Oshiro!” Ikeda let out a grunt as he tossed the ball low and to their middle, and Oshiro scored a kill against Fukunaga.

The game continued on, and they were similar to (if not a little lacking in skill) Fukurodani.  Their defense was extremely solid, but their offense wasn’t as practiced as Fukurodani; the hitters would either get blocked or their hit would become a one-touch, making it easier for UT to get a kill and win the point.  The first year hitter, though, was pretty impressive for his size.  While he didn’t score as many points as Yamamoto, he definitely contributed to the point gain.  Lev also had a terrific game and racked up the points for Nekoma.  However, UT ended up finishing the first set 25-15.

Daichi grabbed a towel and rubbed the sweat off of his face as the non-starters took the court to scrimmage.  He kept a close eye on Kuroo to see how he would react against playing his former team.   _Would I be able to give my 100% if I had to play Karasuno with UT?_ Daichi thought to himself.   _I would hope so._

“Nice receives back there,” Ikeda grinned, slapping Daichi’s back and nearly knocking the wind out of him.  “That makes my job easier.  Keep up the good work.”

“Of course,” Daichi nodded his head.

“This should be interesting,” Akiyama muttered, pursing his lips.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, we have Tachibana out on the court, along with that fiery Nekoma hitter.  Something is bound to happen.”

“Murphy’s law,” Ikeda shrugged.  They watched as Kita dug one of the opposing first-year’s hits, sliding to the right to receive the ball, and Oikawa jump-tossed to Tachibana.  He let out a ‘whoop’ and hit the ball into the middle of the court, earning a kill.  The high-energy player jumped up in the air, punching his arms out, as he yelled loudly.  Yamamoto was practically twitching with anger, turning his back sharply as his team circled back up.

“The games have begun,” Fukui commented.

And began they did.  If Yamamoto was playing with energy the first set, he was playing with _fire_ the second set.  He racked up point after point for Nekoma, even though UT kept a one-to-two point lead on the high school.  For whatever reason (probably for everyone’s amusement), Oikawa set Tachibana more often than normal, allowing for the hitter to score.  The two pin-hitters continued with their war, battling with their offensive weapons.

The players on the bench watched with increasing merriment as the game drew to a close.  Yamamoto hit a cut shot, hitting Tachibana’s shoulder, where it bounced off and he got the kill.  Tachibana grit his teeth and swore aloud, his dark brown eyes darting towards the Nekoma ace, who responded with a smirk.  At the score of 24-21, Yamamoto served the ball, probably attempting to aim for Tachibana, but the ball sailed towards Kita.  The small player passed the ball to Oikawa, who set Tachibana.  He quickly approached to the ball, building up momentum, and soared through the air.  The ball hit his palm perfectly and raced down by the sideline.  Instead of hitting Yamamoto’s platform, though, the ball nailed the pin-hitter in the face.  Everyone in the gym gasped as the ball bounced off of Yamamoto’s forehead and to the ground, rolling way.

“Are you alright?” multiple Nekoma team mates asked.  Yamamoto let out a loud cry and directed his attention to Tachibana.

“You!” his voice dramatically wavered.  A bruise was already forming on the hitter’s face.  “How can you challenge me like that and _slaughter_ me?!”

“Me?” Tachibana brought his hands to his chest, even though it was obvious how he was trying not to laugh.  “I thought _you_ challenged _me_ and I had to beat you!”

“Unfair!”

“I have 3 years on you!”

“I should’ve beaten you easily!”

“Doesn’t seem like it now, does it?”

“Okay, okay,” Akiyama cut in, stepping between the two players.  “We aren’t 4 years old, at least I hope not.  Let’s shake hands and thank them for the game.”  Yamamoto and Tachibana grumbled before gripping each other’s hands and smiling too-brightly, thanking one another for a great game.  Minami and Ikeda practically pried Tachibana off of the high school third year, and the rest of the group went through shaking hands with all the players.  Daichi and Kenma shared a small smile.

“We’re going to take a 10 minute break before we start,” Fukurodani’s coach announced.  “And UT, your coach wants you guys to cool down and pack up your belongings.”

“You heard him!” Akiyama continued.  “Circle up and stretch.”  The group of college players circled up and began stretching their arms, legs, and other joints.  Daichi could tell Kuroo and Bokuto wanted to get going and talk to the Fukurodani and Nekoma players.  As soon as Akiyama dismissed them, the two friends sprinted over to Akaashi, Kenma, and Lev, who were all talking.

“Kenma-san and I are getting good!” Lev beamed.

“Lev, don’t say stuff like that if it’s not true,” Kenma looked up at the much taller player.

“Hey!”

“I thought you were doing well,” Akaashi countered.

“AKAASHI!” Bokuto screeched, leaping onto Akaashi’s back.  The latter stumbled forward but held onto Bokuto’s legs, like a piggy-back ride, even though his face looked somewhat annoyed.  Kuroo had grabbed Kenma and was lifting him up, like ‘Simba’ from _The Lion King_.

“They’re all good friends, huh?” Ikeda crossed his arms, standing next to Daichi.

“Probably more than just friends.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah,” Daichi looked at the elder.

“Ah.  Well, make sure they pack up and stuff.”  The setter walked away, leaving Ushijima, Oikawa, and Daichi to watch the group.  Daichi decided to walk over, so the other two followed.

“And I was just like ‘wham!’  And then it was like ‘pow!’” Bokuto was flailing his arms around, while Lev was bouncing up and down, Akaashi tried to hold back a grin, Kenma watched with his neutral expression, and Kuroo was biting his lip to keep from laughing hysterically.  Daichi opened his mouth to say something, but someone else got to it first.

“I hate to interrupt the lovebirds, but we gotta’ get packing up,” Oikawa clucked.

“Oikawa, let them have their moment,” Daichi intoned.

“Not like you and Iwaizumi are making out every chance you get,” Ushijima pitched in.

“That’s why I go over to _his_ apartment now,” Oikawa muttered, walking away.  “At least I get some privacy there.”

“But on a serious note, you’re gonna have to wrap it up soon,” Daichi shrugged.  “Sorry, guys.”

“Can we take them with us?” Kuroo asked, picking Kenma up and squeezing him as the latter dug his phone out.

“ _Please?_ ” Bokuto nestled his head into the crane of Akaashi’s neck.

“That’s not my call,” Daichi waved his arm as he turned his back and walked away, Ushijima right beside him.  Daichi tuned out their conversations to give them some privacy and instead made small-talk with Ushijima about the match and volleyball-related topics, as it was something the lefty could go on about for hours.  Daichi grabbed his phone out of his bag and saw a snapchat from Suga, so he eagerly opened the app up.  It was from two hours ago, but it couldn’t wait.

Daichi’s phone almost slipped out of his hand and he threw it into his bag when he saw it.  It was a shirtless picture of Suga, who had a hand running through his gorgeous silver hair, and his hazel eyes looked longingly into the camera.  His body wasn’t necessarily muscular, but it was gorgeously shaped and he could almost feel his skin. Daichi felt the heat rising to his cheeks and ears, and ducked his head to avoid further embarrassment. It wasn’t uncommon for the two of them to exchange more risqué pictures but they never failed to make Daichi extremely flustered.

“Dai-chan, are you alright?” Oikawa asked.

“I’m, yup, I am perfectly great, uh, fine,” Daichi stammered.  “I’m just thinking about the scrimmage.”

“What about it?”

“Well,” Daichi paused.  What was on his mind - not about Suga’s nearly naked body, which he would have to snapchat him later for some… more - was actually about the scrimmage.  “Like, yeah, I did decent, but balls aren’t going to be that easy in a match against other colleges.  Serves and hits are going to be harder, the setters will dump… everything won’t be as easy as that.  I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be able to keep up with it.”

“Dai-chan,” Oikawa sung, looking at the Karasuno-alum with his warm brown eyes.  “You’ll be just fine.  You do well in practices against our players, and some of those hits you received today were no easy feat.  Don’t put yourself down so much.”

“Wow… praise from _the_ Oikawa Tooru?” Ushijima sarcastically drawled.  “Daichi, you must be a god!”

“Oh, shut up,” Daichi muttered.

“Oh, and Daichi,” Oikawa paused and looked away, before turning his head back towards Daichi.  His eyes glimmered mischievously and a smirk playfully sat on his lips.  “Tell Suga to send it to me next time!”  Daichi knew he looked like he saw a ghost, and Oikawa began laughing, Ushiwaka looking at the both of them like they were crazy.

“Goodbye!” Daichi leapt up and practically ran out to the bus, sending a quick, blurry picture of his face to Suga.  “ _OIKAWA SAW SAVE MY ASS.”_ Hitting send, Daichi practically fell into the bus and grabbed a seat, shoving his belongings to the outside of his seat so nobody could join him.  Oikawa and Ushijima joined soon after, Oikawa still laughing and making fun of Daichi without actually giving anything away.

“Where the hell are Bokuto and Kuroo?” Akiyama questioned, looking out the window.  Kuroo was jogging towards the bus, but Bokuto was still nowhere to be seen.  Kuroo stepped onto the bus and threw his bags on top of Daichi, who swore loudly, and hopped into the seat, on top of Daichi’s belongings.

“Sorry,” Kuroo apologized.

“Where’s Bokuto?”

“Necking with Akaashi,” Kuroo answered under his breath.  “Just finishing up.”  Daichi laughed loudly, everyone else giving him a weird look.  Bokuto flew onto the bus moments later, tripping and falling into a random seat.

“Sorry, I’m here now!” Bokuto announced much-too loudly.  He rubbed at the side of his chin, and Daichi couldn’t help the laughter that escaped from his lips.  Bokuto sighed deeply, leaning into the back of the seat.  Daichi noticed a small bruise on the wing-spiker’s collarbone, peeking out from the top of his shirt.  Oikawa appeared to have noticed it, too.

“Bokuto, Akaashi gives hickeys?” Oikawa taunted.

“Shit,” Bokuto craned his neck to look at the small mark.  “I didn’t think he did.  And why do _you_ care, anyways?”

“Iwa-chan - “

“Stop right there,” Ushijima held his hand up.

“I’m with Ushijima on that one,” Daichi agreed.  “Kuroo, why did _you_ take so long?”

“Kenma and I kept it PG, unlike some _other_ people here,” Kuroo shrugged.

“Goddammit, Bokuto,” Daichi shook his head.

“Okay, you and Suga would probably fuck each other every five minutes if he was here,” Bokuto retorted.

“That’s actually the most realistic thing I’ve heard come from his mouth,” Oikawa commented.

“That’s what happens when you are a whole continent away from your significant other.”

“So you’re not denying it?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!
> 
> hope you guys like this chapter, it was loads of fun to write! <3 and if you're still curious about how the OC's look (because our OC's appear a lot in this chapter), you can see their rough sketches here: http://trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com/post/144552616935/haikyuuliberos-the-first-rough-sketches-for-our 
> 
> @trashcan-kitty is beginning to work on the official drawings for them, and we will be posting their characters bios soon! 
> 
> thanks for all your love and support!
> 
> tumblrs:  
> @haikyuuliberos  
> @trashcan-kitty


	11. Honey we Broke the Kids part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School is stressful and the boys are not okay... also Christmas sweaters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo sorry guys, life has been stressful and things with this have been moving a little slow lately but I think we'll be able to go back to regular updates soon. Also lots of other plans have been made for more spin off stuff so you will be seeing A LOT more of our ocs.

It was Saturday morning when Daichi found himself at the dining room table.  His gaze lay on his math textbook, but his eyes couldn’t focus on the numbers and symbols on the page as he attempted to do his homework.

Morning practice hadn’t gone too well.  He had done ‘alright’ by others standards, but terrible for his own: he shanked more passes than usual and wasn’t really on his ‘game’ all morning.  It frustrated him and he was mad at himself that he couldn’t do better.   _ Is it my body?  My mind? _ Daichi thought, rubbing his forehead with a hand.  He held his arms out forward, as if he were about to pass the ball, and looked at his forearms with disdain.  Maybe he wasn’t low enough to the floor, or he wasn’t on the balls of his feet?

“Ah, screw it,” he muttered, shutting his math book forcefully, closing his notebook.  He looked up at the clock to see  _ 11:38. _  “Is Bokuto not home yet?”

“No,” Kuroo said from across the table, snacking on an apple.  “He had to go meet with a teacher or something, I don’t really know.”

“Bokuto?  Meeting with a teacher?” Ushijima sarcastically added.

“That’s what I was just thinking,” Daichi snorted.  He lay his forehead on the table and got his phone out, scrolling through his Instagram.  Daichi’s breath caught in his throat when he saw a picture of Suga, his sunshine-filled smile immediately drawing Daichi in.  He felt his finger double-tap the picture without even thinking about it.  He also noticed the girl standing next to Suga, the two of them shrugging with their arms up.

_ Finding cute cafes with @ _ **_Ellian.ZJ_ ** _ makes for great days  _ _ ♥  _ Daichi couldn’t help the twinge of jealousy that stabbed his chest when looking at the girl; she was definitely attractive, and… Suga was just friends with her!  What was he thinking?!  With a groan, Daichi slammed his phone on the table, turning the screen off.

“Everything alright, crow-captain?” Kuroo raised his eyebrows.

“Fine,” Daichi curtly replied.  Kuroo gave Daichi a look, his light brown eyes obviously disbelieving.  With a sigh, Kuroo ran a hand through his messy hair, murmuring to himself.  Daichi watched as he covered up half the page and quizzed himself, before removing his hand.

“Dammit!” Kuroo swore, kicking the table leg.  “This is such bullshit.”

“Why don’t you take a break?” Daichi advised.

“Because I won’t do well if I take a break!  I have to study every second I can!”

“Taking a break isn’t going to kill you,” Ushijima said, his voice carrying from the couch.  “What are you stuck on, anyways?”

“Muscle structure.”

“That’s the easiest part!”

“Shut up!”

“Why don’t you two  _ help _ each other study instead of arguing?” Daichi questioned, half-joking, half-serious.  The two studied each other for a moment before nodding their heads, and Ushijima moved to the table, where the two began conversing quietly.  Daichi looked at his phone, in his hands, and even though he scrolled through his social media, he wasn’t really ‘looking’ at it.

The door of the apartment suddenly burst open and Bokuto strolled in, his volleyball bag slung around his shoulder, before he kicked the door shut and walked to the kitchen, throwing the bag on the ground and opening the pantry, grabbing cup noodles.

“How was your meeting, Bo?” Kuroo asked without looking up.

“Fine.”  At the one word Bokuto uttered, the three sitting at the table looked at each other.

“Bokuto,  _ the _ Bokuto Koutarou, the most talkative person on the planet, just said one word?” Ushijima taunted.

“Fuck off,” Bokuto muttered, not sounding at all joking.

“Why are you grabbing cup noodles?  We just went to the store a day ago,” Daichi knew he was taking a risk, talking to an obviously on-edge Bokuto, but did so anyways.

“Because I can,” Bokuto snapped.

“What the hell is your problem?” Kuroo inquired.

“Nothing that you would care about,” Bokuto leaned against the counter, crossing his arms as he waited for the noodles to heat up.

“Bo,” Daichi paused, furrowing his eyebrows.  “You can tell us anything.”

“Yeah,” Kuroo seemed genuinely concerned for his friend.

“It’s just…” Bokuto ran a hair through his hair as the microwave beeped, grabbing his cup noodles out of the machine.  “I’m so fucking stupid.”

“What?” Ushijima pursed his lips.

“Well, yeah, I’m stupid, in the sense I’m bad at school,” Bokuto shrugged.  “But I basically screwed myself over.”

“How?”

“I was meeting with the dean of education,” the spiky-haired player began, rubbing his face stressfully.  “They’re concerned with my grades and keeping my scholarship.”

“What?!” everyone nearly shrieked.

“I have a 2.1 and could be put on probation from volleyball practices and shit if I don’t get my grade up to a 2.6 in the next 3 weeks.  And I could lose my scholarship and not play completely if it doesn’t get better soon.”

“Bo,” Kuroo scolded.  “Why didn’t you ask for help?”

“How are you going to raise your grade by .5 in three weeks?!” Daichi couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t know!” Bokuto cried out, before quieting down.  “I don’t know.  Fuck.”

“Hey, we’re here to help,” Ushijima assured.

“Why haven’t you studied more?!” Kuroo was still disbelieving of the whole situation; even though Daichi knew Bokuto didn’t apply himself, he didn’t realize he had let himself get down to a low GPA.

“Because I hate my major!” Bokuto fought.  “Agricultural studies?!  What the hell am I going to do with that later in life?”

“We told you to change your major!” Daichi shook his head.

“Yeah, but finals are, like, 2 weeks away and I don’t have time to change and learn a whole semester’s worth of material for 6 classes!”

“You can get a tutor,” Ushijima suggested.

“I don’t have time!”

“I would help if I could,” Daichi exhaled.  “But I can’t.”

“I would too, but I swamped and stressed out,” Kuroo agreed.

“You’re stressed?!” Bokuto yelped.

“What, are you the only one allowed to be stressed?”

“What the fuck do you mean you’re stressed out?  You have, like, straight A’s!”

“I actually have two B’s, so…”

“Wow!  Two B’s?” Bokuto grabbed his face in fake-astonishment.  “How dare you?!”

“Fuck off,” Kuroo spat.  “I’m serious.”

“I’m serious too!  I have a single B and the rest C’s and D’s!”  

“Because you don’t apply yourself, dumbass!”  Daichi and Ushijima watched as the argument continued and escalated, unsure of what to do.  Their heads whipped back and forth as they took in the whole situation.   
“You know what?” Bokuto stood up from his seat.  “I thought you would be supportive of me but you just go and turn this around and make this about yourself.”

“Shut the hell up,” Kuroo rolled his eyes.  “ _ You’re _ the drama queen.”

“You are always venting to me about your problems and drama with Kenma.”

“What does Kenma have to do with this?” Kuroo leapt out of his chair, knocking it over with a loud thud.

“Everything, probably,” Bokuto dared to say.

“Don’t say anything about Kenma or I  _ will _ kick your ass,” the bedhead snarled.

“Don’t do it,” Ushijima whispered.

“Apparently Kenma isn’t giving it to you or-”  Suddenly, Kuroo was flying across the room and grabbed Bokuto by the front of his shirt.  They started yelling loudly, slewing swear words at each other; Kuroo shook Bokuto, the spiky-haired hitter writhing in the other’s grasp and attempting to kick his attacker.

“Hey, hey!” Ushijima and Daichi shouted amidst the fighting, both of them lunging to separate the two before someone got hurt.  Ushijima grabbed Kuroo and heaved him off of his victim, while Daichi grabbed Bokuto and pulled him out of Kuroo’s grip.  They were all breathing heavily and panting by the end of it.

“Can you two not calm the fuck down?!” Daichi roared.

“Did he just… swear?” Bokuto and Ushijima looked at each other.   
“Go to your rooms or something,” the Karasuno-alum ordered.

“What, are you my  _ dad _ ?” Kuroo scoffed.

“Kuroo, I will fucking - “

“Going.”  Kuroo zipped out of the room and into Oikawa’s, just as the setter was leaving the room.  He looked at Kuroo, then towards the other 3, with puzzled expression resting on his countenance.

“Should I even ask?” he dryly announced.

“No, please don’t,” Daichi replied, annoyed.  The 3 involved in the fight sat down at the dining room table, Bokuto angrily shoving noodles into his mouth.  He obviously looked distressed, especially after arguing (and getting physical) with his best friend.  Daichi glanced over at Oikawa and he walked towards the fridge.  His gait was slow and almost too-careful, though, and Daichi nudged Ushijima.  The lefty glanced up, narrowing his eyes at Oikawa.

“What are you doing?” Daichi asked, crossing his arms.

“...getting milk bread?” Oikawa gave Daichi a strange look and slowed his movements down, now that everyone’s eyes were on him.

“Are you limping?” Ushijima asked flat-out. 

“What?  No, of course not!” Oikawa waved his hand, grabbing his snack from the pantry.  However, he dropped the package and bent down to pick it up, his face twisting just the slightest in what Daichi observed to be pain.

“Oikawa, don’t lie,” Daichi’s tone was light as he stared directly into the setter’s eyes.

“I’m  _ fine, _ ” Oikawa assured, becoming irritated.  He made his way over to the couch and, taking his time, sat down.

“You’re an idiot,” Ushijima grumbled.

“It’s not bothering me!”

“Now that I think about it, your serves  _ did _ suck today.”   
“Shut the hell up!  It’s just a little sore…”

“Looks a little more than sore to me,” Daichi quipped.

“Fuck off!” Oikawa screeched, standing up (and obviously favoring) his right leg, before he stalked off to his room and slammed the door, joining Kuroo.  Daichi breathed in deeply before pulling his phone out, scrolling through his contacts.

“What are you doing?” Bokuto inquired.

“Calling Hajime.”

“ _ What?! _ ” Ushijima and Bokuto both exploded.

“We made a promise, remember?” Daichi raised his eyebrows and held the phone up to his ear as it rang.  One… two… three…

“Thank  _ god _ you called, Daichi,” Iwaizumi’s voice burst through the phone.

“I actually ha-”

“You won’t believe what my setter did!” Iwaizumi exclaimed.

“Haji-”

“So he comes up to me after tossing me this shit ball.  It was so low, like under the tape, and way too fast, but I hit it anyways and got it in, but he yelled at me to extend my reach!  I almost cussed him the fuck out!”

“Ha-”

“And  _ then _ in the locker room, he told me I looked like a fucking hedgehog!  In front of  _ everyone _ !  Then he starts ruffling my goddamn hair and I almost slapped him, okay?!  I was  _ this _ -”

“Hajime!”

“Jesus, what’s up with you today?” Iwaizumi quieted down.

“As interesting and unfortunate as your story is, we have a situation over here,” Daichi explained.

“What’s going on?”  His tone was instantly serious, and Daichi braced himself even though they were talking through their phones.

“I’m 105% sure that Oikawa screwed up his knee.”

“...I’m on my way.”  The call cut off and Daichi brought the phone away from his ear, looking up as Bokuto and Ushijima stared at him, wide-eyed.

“Well,” Bokuto shrugged.  “Now we wait.”

Even though it was a good 30 minute drive between both of their apartments, Iwaizumi got there in 14 minutes (Bokuto timed it).  The three of them were hanging around the living room nervously, pacing and preparing themselves for the bomb that was Iwaizumi.  They were worried for Oikawa, obviously, as their teammate and friend was hurt (and in denial), and the fact that angry Iwaizumi was not someone to be around.  An aggressive knock, resembling a punch, sounded from the door, and caused everyone to jump.  Daichi rushed over to the door and opened it, where Iwaizumi gave a grim smile and walked past him.

“Oikawa!” Bokuto sang.  “You have a visitor!”

“You seem like you’re enjoying this too much,” Ushijima commented.

“Oh, I  _ am _ .”

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa gasped, his face lighting up with a too-bright smile.

“What the  _ fuck _ did I tell you?” Iwaizumi didn’t even react to Oikawa’s showy greeting.  Oikawa remained smiling for a moment, until it vanished off of his face, and he sighed.

“Is there any way I can get out of this?”

“Hell no.”  At that, Iwaizumi grabbed the front of Oikawa’s shirt and began dragging him toward their room (Kuroo heard Iwaizumi and fled the room immediately), Oikawa unleashing a grand number of complaints.

“You’re going to rip my shirt and it’s  _ brand  _ new!  You’re hurting me!  My knee hurts from you  _ dragging _ me!”  It didn’t quiet down until they got into the room and Iwaizumi slammed the door shut, where it became eerily silent.  All of the guys pressed their ears against the door to listen, until a booming voice erupted and they jumped backward in surprise.

“What did I tell you?!”

“I need to get better!”

“You need to listen to me and not fucking do stupid shit!”

“Iwa-chan-”

“Don’t Iwa-chan me, Tooru!”

“I’m fine, really!”

“You’re fine?!  You’re  _ fine?! _  Tooru, you’re obviously not fucking ‘fine,’ you’re limping like a buffalo with a broken leg.”

“It’s none of your business!”

“It’s  _ all _ of my business!  If you don’t tell me right fucking now I am going to be so goddamn pissed!”

“And you’re not now?”

“ _ Tooru _ -”

“Okay, okay.  I’ve…  _ fuck _ , I’m going to die.  I’ve been staying after practice every night to get extra reps.”  Suddenly, they heard thumping and the four guys waiting outside of the bedroom stumbled backward, just as Iwaizumi opened the door with never-before-seen anger.

“Fuck,” Bokuto and Ushijima swore.

“You didn’t tell me he was staying after practice?!”

“Wait, they were supposed to tell you?!” Oikawa peeked his head out of the door, his cheeks flushed with frustration.

“Hajime, calm down,” Daichi replied, raising his hands.  “We didn’t know about it, I swear!  He told us he was getting tutoring sessions…”

“ _ Tooru _ !” Iwaizumi was back in the room in a flash, the door being loudly shut.  “Why would you lie to your teammates?!”

“Because… because!”

“Fuck.. shit.. I’m so pissed right now I can’t even form words I’m so pissed.  Okay, but from now on, I am  _ not _ letting you out of their sight and you need to be completely honest and - “

“Okay,  _ mom _ .”

“I wasn’t fucking finished!  You are actually 3 years old goddammit.  Have you gone to the trainer or the doctor yet?”

“...no.”

“Guess where we’re going?!”

“No, Iwa-chan, no!”

“Come on, Trashykawa.”

“Noooooooo!” the door burst open again and Iwaizumi was hauling a limp Oikawa over his shoulder, walking across the room.

“We’re going to the doctor,” Iwaizumi informed them.

“Save me!” Oikawa howled, trying to grab his other roommates.  They all just stared at him, arms crossed, as he began to accept his fate.  Kuroo actually waved at Oikawa with a smirk on his lips, to which Oikawa flipped him off.  The door closed, Oikawa’s complaints still audible from the hallway.

“You know what I just realized?” Bokuto pondered aloud.  “Iwaizumi kind of looks like a hedgehog!”

“Goodness gracious,” Daichi shook his head.  “I’m going to my room for some peace and quiet.”  He walked away from the group and into his own room, closing the door behind him.  With a sigh, Daichi flopped down on the bed and closed his eyes to relax for a moment after the hectic day of doing schoolwork and breaking up fights.  He grabbed his laptop and opened it up, making sure he didn’t miss any assignments.  He heard a small ‘swoosh’ and looked to see a Skype notification.   _ Sugawara Koushi is online! _  Daichi’s chest swelled and he grinned, eagerly clicking the icon.  

“Hey,” Daichi waited until the camera loaded, and Sugawara flashed a smile.

“Hey, Daichi,” Suga responded.  He let out a yawn and stretched his arms.

“Oh, is this a bad time?  I know it’s late there… we can talk another time,” Daichi suggested.

“No, it’s fine.”  Daichi couldn’t help but pick up a forlorning tone in Sugawara’s voice, but he pushed it to the back of his mind.

“How are things?”

“Well…” Suga paused and pushed back his silver hair, and Daichi noticed the bags under his eyes and how his irises didn’t seem as lit up as usual, even through the computer screen.  “I’m in the middle of finals so that’s a huge pain in the ass… but then we are off for about a month before the spring semester. Christmas is a huge deal here, which I don’t really get, but it’s exciting, I guess.”

“Lucky,” Daichi rested his head on his hands.  “We get a few days off for new year’s… and then we have exams and are off until late March.  Things are so chaotic here, though.  Between Bokuto and Kuroo being morons all the time, and then Iwaizumi and Oikawa being all over each other, even though they’ve moved it to Iwaizumi’s apartment… god, I miss you so much, Koushi.”

“I miss you too,” Suga smiled sadly, before pausing and looking away.  Daichi’s stomach twisted nervously.  “But, honestly, how are we going to  _ be _ ?”

“What do you mean?” Daichi felt a lump in his throat and couldn’t help how the words rushed out of his mouth.

“I hate how our relationship is just skype calls and snapchats.  I want to see you in person so bad and just… hold you and take in every part of you.  I feel like this isn’t working out and you deserve to be happy and I’m holding you back from that.”  Daichi felt his heart drop and almost became dizzy for a moment.   _ Was Suga, the always hopeful and happy Suga, actually saying this? _

“It’s hard for me too, Koushi,” Daichi persisted.  “Believe me, with these four jerks reminding me of you being on a different continent all the time.  Besides you being away from me, though, I wouldn’t want it any other way.  I am so happy with you and you’re the only one for me.  Honestly… I can’t believe how lucky I am to be with  _ you _ .”

“Daichi…” Sugawara trailed off, his hazel eyes filled with emotion.  “I don’t know how this is going to work for another, what?  5 months?”

Still laying down on his bed, Daichi grabbed the calendar that sat on his nightstand, flipping through the pages.  “When I look at the days on the calendar and cross them off until we see each other again, it doesn’t seem like that long of a time.  Every time I mark off a day, I’m one day closer to seeing you Koushi.  When the days add up, it becomes a lot and May’s going to be here before you know it.”  Daichi looked up, his voice cracking with the last of his words, and noticed Suga’s shoulders shaking.  He knew he was embarrassed to look up and be crying, so Daichi continued talking.  “We’ll make this work, Koushi.  I  _ promise _ .”

“Okay, Daichi,” Suga softly wept.  His eyes bore his true emotions, and Daichi’s suspicions were confirmed from earlier: even though Suga was smiling, beaming happily, he was having a difficult time.

“I love you, okay?”

“Koushi!” a voice yelled from the background.  Suga spun around and a person Daichi didn’t recognize was in the background.  They started speaking in English, which Daichi only understood a bit of.  Once the person stopped talking and walked out of the camera frame, Suga started talking again.

“My roommate says I need to be quieter,” Suga rolled his teary eyes and wiped them before looking back into the camera.  “I have to go, but I’ll talk to you later.”

“Alright,” Daichi nodded, glancing down.  “I love you, remember that.”

“I always do.”  The screen returned back to his home screen, and Daichi exhaled, his breath shaking slightly.   _ He couldn’t lose Suga… he absolutely  _ couldn’t.  He flipped over on his back and rested his head on his pillow, closing his eyes and wishing it were May.

*** 

It had been two days since the fight between Kuroo and Bokuto, the whole situation with Oikawa, and Daichi’s disappointing conversation with Suga.  Kuroo and Bokuto were being ridiculous with each other, as they had been ignoring each other ever since their argument, but it was to the point that they weren’t even ignoring each other: Kuroo would bump into Bokuto and declare, “Did I just hit something?”  Bokuto would always say, “Is there a fly in the room?  I thought I heard something.”

Oikawa had been in a terrible mood ever since he had gone to the doctor (and returned with a bigger, more supportive knee brace).  He wasn’t necessarily ignoring everyone, but he didn’t initiate conversations and when he did offer a response, it was often short and snarky.

Daichi had yet to talk to Sugawara again, as they had only snapchatted once or twice since their disheartening talk. Suga had apologized claiming that he was just stressed and tired but Daichi was still on edge. He had been trying to put on a brave face in front of his roommates, trying to make it seem like nothing was wrong, even though he seemed to have a permanent ache in his heart that only faded when he was playing volleyball. Ushijima had just been dealing with everyone’s shit quietly, and Daichi was pretty sure he had been talking to everyone and just agreeing with what everyone had to say with their different problems.

“Wow, did the counter always protrude this far?” Kuroo loudly asked after hitting Bokuto when grabbing the fridge handle.

“I think our AC is broken,” Bokuto snappily replied.  “It’s been so loud recently.”

“Okay, I am so tired of all this shit!” Daichi shouted, slamming his book shut as he sat at the dining room table.  Everyone stopped what they were doing and slowly turned to look at him, their eyes wide with fear.  “Family - ah, fuck - meeting right now.”  The four other roommates had never moved so quickly in their lives, sliding into their usual seats and looking at Daichi nervously.

“I have to study,” Kuroo sighed.

“I’d rather not be here,” Bokuto whined.

“I hate you all,” Oikawa crossed his arms and formed his lips into a pout.

“Does it look like,” Daichi waved his arms in front of him.  “I give a shit?”

“He’s gonna owe  _ so _ much to the swear jar,” Kuroo muttered, and Bokuto actually laughed out loud before covering his mouth and tilting his chin up.

“Wow, Dai-chan,” Oikawa raised his eyebrows.  “What’s got your panties in a twist?”

“It’s because he hasn’t gotten laid since… how long has Suga been in America?” Bokuto didn’t realize the weight of his words on Daichi, who immediately lunged across the table towards Bokuto.  Oikawa shrieked or something, and Ushijima immediately grabbed Daichi and held his arms back.

“Chill out,” Ushijima commanded, hoisting a red-faced Daichi away from Bokuto, who’s expression was one of sheer surprise.  Kuroo’s face twisted unnaturally as he was trying not to laugh, and tears pricked at his eyes.

“All of you,” Ushijima dropped Daichi, who landed on the floor with a thump.  “Are idiots.  I’ve had to deal with all of your stupid-ass problems that could be resolved in one conversation.  What is so fucking hard about talking?”

“Yeah,” Daichi stood up from the ground, sending a menacing glare toward Bokuto, who shuddered.  “Let’s start with Bokuto and Kuroo.  Why are you two still ignoring each other?  You obviously don’t want to.”

“Because he’s wrong!” Bokuto and Kuroo yelled in unison, jabbing their fingers towards one another, before turning to each other and staring at one another with stupid faces.

“There’s not even a right or wrong in your guys’ situation,” Ushijima remarked.

“Ushiwaka’s right,” Daichi nodded his head.  “You guys are just too stubborn to apologize.”

“Well, I’m not apologizing first,” Bokuto leaned back in his chair, his golden eyes cool.

“Me neither.”

“What about at the same time?” Oikawa suggested.  At first, Daichi couldn’t believe Oikawa’s stupidity, until he realized it was probably the only way to get the two morons to apologize to each other.

“That’s… the dumbest and smartest thing I’ve ever heard,” Ushijima said under his breath.

“Okay,” Bokuto nodded his head.  “1… 2… 3…”

“I’m sorry,” the two said in unison.

“I should’ve been a better friend and helped you deal with your problems instead of mine,” Kuroo hung his head.  “I’m so selfish.”

“Bro, I’m sorry too,” Bokuto grabbed Kuroo’s shoulder.  “I just lost my temper and I really want to keep playing.”

“Bro.”  The two embraced and began to fake-cry - or were there real tears? - , while the other 3 roommates sighed and rubbed their faces.

“Next, onto Pissykawa,” Daichi continued.

“ _ Pissykawa, really _ ?!” the setter gasped, incredulous, while the two just-forgiven friends began cackling loudly.

“Yes,” the Karasuno-alum shrugged.  “Because you’ve been a snarky little shit since we invited Hajime over.”   
“Since when have you been on a first name basis with him?”

“Since we became friends?  He calls me by my first name so I call him by his!”

“He only calls me stupid names!  ‘Trashykawa,’ ‘Shittykawa’...”

“That’s enough,” Ushijima rubbed his forehead.

“Assikawa,” Oikawa held his fingers up with each name he listed off.

“Okay, we get it,” Daichi held his hands up.

“The point is,” Oikawa sighed dramatically.  “Ever since you told him about my issue, he hasn’t stopped bothering me!”  Oikawa pulled out his phone and turned it on, scrolling on the lockscreen to show numerous texts from Iwaizumi.  “He thinks I’m a  _ baby _ !”   
“He isn’t wrong,” Kuroo added, earning a glare from Oikawa.

“Oikawa, we just don’t want you to hurt yourself,”Daichi explained.  “You’re our teammate and our friend, and you push yourself harder than anyone.”

“I know.”

“What?!” everyone yelled.

“Yeah, I know,” Oikawa tilted his head to the side.  

“But… you act so stupid!” Bokuto’s hands were on his cheeks as he gaped at the setter.

“Stupid is definitely not the right word,” Ushijima turned and looked at the other.

“Okay, well you need to  _ not _ push yourself beyond your limits, believe it or not,” Daichi disregarded the side-conversation.

“Fine,” Oikawa complained.  “I can’t even do much with this giant fucking contraption of a knee brace on my leg anyways.”

“It’s not that bad,” Ushijima pointed to the knee brace, lying on the couch.

“It  _ is _ that bad, you don’t have to wear it!”

“Don’t do this,” Kuroo breathed in.

“It’s the worst! The stupid brace is so stiff, I have no mobility at all. It’s basically a peg-leg!”

“Do you know what a peg-leg is?” Daichi looked at the other 3 roommates.

“I might as well just cut my leg off and get a prosthetic! That way I’ll never have to worry about injuring it again.”

“Are you fucking kidding me,” Ushijima shook his head, trying not to visibly not punch Oikawa.  A sudden knock sounded from the door, and Daichi walked over while the other three got to deal with Oikawa’s ridiculous complaints.  He opened the door and saw a delivery man, holding a box.

“Uh, yes,” he glanced down at the package.  “I have a package for Oikawa Tooru?”   
“That’s me!” Oikawa sang and rushed over, shoving Daichi out of the way, who hit the wall with a grunt.  Oikawa took the package out of the man’s arms and nearly slammed the door shut before looking at the label and beaming, placing the box down on the kitchen counter.

“What is that?” Bokuto had quickly wandered over and inspected the box with wide golden eyes.

“Okay, okay,” Oikawa held his hands up as the group congregated around the counter.  “So I ordered these for us-”

“I’m out,” Ushijima waved his hand and began to walk away until Oikawa shot him a glare.

“I ordered these for all of us before we all got pissy with each other, but I still want to give them to you.  You have to promise me  _ one _ thing, though.”

“Oh, god,” Daichi groaned.

“You  _ have  _ to wear them.”

“It’s a no from me!” Kuroo raised his arms and stepped back.

“Fuck you!” Oikawa shouted as he tore the box open, Bokuto peering into the box.  The wing-spiker gasped loudly before he burst out laughing, slipping backwards and falling onto the floor.

“Sweaters by Sato?!” he howled, clutching his stomach.  Oikawa scowled as he grabbed the piece of paper with the company name, flinging it across the room.  They all looked into the box and saw a sweater sitting neatly on top.

“Oh… my god,” Ushijima’s face went pale.  “Christmas sweaters?!” The sweater on top was bright red and had Santa’s face in the center, with the words ‘Where My Ho’s At?” surrounding the figure.

“That’s mine!” Oikawa held it up to himself and looked down on it with glee.

“Holy shit,” Kuroo spewed, and he joined Bokuto on the floor as they began dying of laughter.

“This one’s yours, Dai-chan!” Oikawa threw the next sweater at Daichi, who fearfully held the sweater up to look at it.  It was white with a winking Santa on it, with the words ‘I love it when you call me Big Papa’ plastered onto the shirt.  Daichi’s cheeks lit up, as red as tomato, as he balled the shirt up and hid it behind his back.  Kuroo and Bokuto were in tears at this point.

“Ushiwaka!” Oikawa handed a green sweater to the left, who looked at it with a nervous face, before it relaxed.

“I lucked out,” he sighed, turning the sweater around.  ‘Merry Christmas Ya’ Filthy Animal’ covered the shirt, along with some decorative designs.

“And I get… this?!” Daichi shrilled.

“Kuroo!” Oikawa chucked a sweater at the lying figure’s face, to which he made an ‘oomph!’ sound.  Kuroo looked at the sweater before turning it over, allowing everyone to see it, as his screeching laughter filled the house.  His was even worse than Daichi’s: a scantily clad lady was sewn onto the sweater, holding a whip, as a sewn-on Santa was crawling on the ground with a sly smirk, the phrase ‘Santa’s been naughty’ surrounding the two figures.

“I can’t wear this!” Kuroo whined as Bokuto made wheezing noises from laughing so hard.

“Oh, Bo, here’s yours,” Oikawa dropped the final sweater on the spiky-haired wing spiker, who looked at it.  It was green and had a ribbon in the shape of a bow, along with two bells at the bottom of the shirt and the words ‘I’ll let you jingle my bells’.

“I’m  _ totally _ wearing this,” Bokuto hollered, still wiping tears from his eyes.

“I’m flattered,” Daichi covered his face.  “But no.”

“I’m with Daichi,” Kuroo agreed.

“We can wear them on Christmas!” Oikawa argued.

“No!” the four of them shouted.

“Maybe I’ll just have to tell Iwa-chan about my knee again… don’t you guys  _ love  _ it when he’s pissed off?!”

“Wow, Oikawa,” Kuroo sputtered, looking at his sweater with a painful expression.  “I… I  _ love _ my sweater.”

“Me too, Daichi managed to get out.

“Good!” Oikawa clapped his hands together.  Daichi cringed and slipped the sweater over his head, looking down on it and trying not to cringe.  Before he knew it, Daichi heard the click of a cell phone camera and saw Oikawa snickering.

“You know what?” it took Daichi’s last bit his self control to not throw the sweater on the ground and stomp on it repeatedly.  Oikawa slipped his phone away, still giggling, and the group dispersed as Bokuto and Kuroo put their sweaters on,  _ still _ laughing.  Daichi felt a buzz from his pocket and grabbed his phone.   _ Snapchat from SugaNSpice. _  He opened it up, trying not to smile, until he almost screamed when he saw the picture.

Suga had an eyebrow raised quizzically, but the caption was what hit Daichi.  “ _ So… Big Papa?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So all of Oikawa's complaints about his knee are from me when I fucked up my knee when we were initially writing this chapter. Again sorry this took so long...  
> Also we've started uploading bios and art for the ocs see  
> http://trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com/search/captains+college+au
> 
> ~Trashcan kitty


	12. I'm Going to Regret This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where many, many bad decisions are made.  
> The chapter could also be called how are these boys still alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how many awful choices does it take to get to the end of this chapter

 

“Goddammit, Kuroo,” Ushijima chucked some money into the swear jar.  “Why, oh _why_ , did I choose you as my partner for Euchre?”

“Okay, I’ve been getting shitty cards,” Kuroo defended as Daichi shuffled the cards.  “I’m actually okay at this game when the dealer isn’t fucking cheating!”  Daichi and Oikawa were leading by 4, and were only 2 away from winning.  

It had been 2 weeks since Kuroo and Bokuto’s fight, along with the rest of the drama that had occurred, and things had been much calmer around the apartment.  There were still the usual things, such as way-too intense MarioKart sessions, stupid choices, and many, many snapchats being sent around.

“Should I dye my hair purple?” Oikawa randomly threw the idea out to the group.  “By the way, Daichi, pick it up.”

“Trump is hearts,” Daichi raised his eyebrows and smirked at Oikawa.

“Ushiwaka, I’m screwed,” Kuroo rubbed his face.

“Fuck.”

“Oikawa, why would you dye your hair purple?” Daichi questioned, setting a King of Spades down.  

“I’m getting bored!” he pat his fluffy hair down as Kuroo placed a 9 of spades down on the table.  “Purple is such a cool color.”

“I like purple,” Ushijima commented.

Oikawa huffed and crossed his arms, “Nevermind.”

“Do you realize Hajime would kill you?”

“Why do you call him by his first name but you all call me other things?”

“You mean Trashykawa?” Ushijima threw a card down.

“And Crappykawa?” Daichi added.

“Can’t forget Assikawa,” Kuroo piped up.

“I’m being ambushed!” Oikawa screeched, throwing all his cards everywhere.

“Oikawa, what the hell?!” Daichi yelled.  “Now we have to start over!”  
“Daichi swore?!” Kuroo gaped.  “The innocent, pure Daichi-”

“I get competitive with cards!”

“I’m not that surprised,” Ushijima shrugged.

“Oikawa, pick up the cards,” Kuroo scolded.

“No!” he ran out of the room, nearly knocking a chair over, before he collided with Bokuto.  “Get out of my way!”

“What the hell?!” Bokuto yelled, grabbing Oikawa and steadying him.  “I just came out here to tell you some awesome news so you can stop playing this stupid-ass card game!”

“You only think it’s stupid because you don’t understand it,” Daichi muttered, collecting his cards.

“Okay,” Bokuto disregarded Daichi’s comment.  “One of my classmates is hosting a party, and he told me to bring some friends and go!”  
“How big is this party?” Oikawa leaned onto Bokuto, his interest peaked.

“Just a group hang out, maybe 20 people _max_.”

“Is there going to be drinking?” Daichi raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe.”

“It’s a no from me,” Ushijima raised his hands in the air.

“I’m with Ushijima,” Daichi agreed.

“I’m in!” Kuroo and Oikawa exclaimed in unison.  Bokuto whooped loudly and the group began jumping around like idiots.

“If the three of them are going, that’s a really bad idea,” Daichi shook his head.  “I don’t think we should go.”

“I think we _should_ ,” Oikawa retorted.  “It’ll be good for you guys! You both are too uptight and stressed out… learn to relax!  And there’s no better way than with alcohol!” He finished in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

“Did he just say that?” Ushijima crossed his arms.

“I’m afraid so.”

“You two are party-poopers!” Bokuto stuck his tongue out.  Kuroo and Oikawa added their two-cents as well, and the three of them were soon blabbering loudly.

“Fine, fine!” Daichi gave in.  “We can go get ready and go to the party or whatever.”

“Yes!” Kuroo, Bokuto, and Oikawa all took off into their room, and Ushijima and Daichi walked into theirs.

“This is the worst idea they’ve ever had. And they’ve had many bad ideas” Ushijima changed into long-sleeve shirt.

“I couldn’t agree more, but there’s not talking them out of it once they have their mind set on something.”  Daichi slipped a sweatshirt over his head and attempted to pat his hair down; it wouldn’t settle the way he wanted it to, so he just frowned and left their room.  When he walked back out to the main area, he almost turned back into the room.  Kuroo and Bokuto were just wearing regular shirts and jeans, but Oikawa was wearing a baseball t-shirt, khakis, and a snapback.

“Oikawa, why?  Just _why_?”

“That’s what I said!” Kuroo jabbed his fingers at Oikawa.

“You look like a tool!” Bokuto laughed.

“Just what I was going for!” Oikawa made a peace signs with his hand, much to the amusement of the group.

“When are we - oh my god,” Ushijima stopped right behind Daichi, looking at Oikawa.  “I regret this.”

“Bokuto, how far away does your friend live?” Daichi asked, the group beginning to walk out of the apartment.

“It’s like a 30 minute walk, but I’m driving,” Bokuto swung his keys around his finger.

“Bokuto, no.”

“Bokuto, _yes_.”  He flashed a mischievous grin before turning to Daichi with a serious expression.  “I’m not going to drink.”

“And I believe that… why?” Daichi attempted to snatch Bokuto’s keys, but the latter threw them to Kuroo, who caught them and held them above his head.  Daichi rolled his eyes and didn’t even attempt to steal them from the middle blocker.  

 

***

 

As soon as Bokuto pulled the car up to the curb, Daichi knew this wasn’t just a little house party.  The music was audible from outside the house, and the ground nearly shook from it.  The house was large, obviously a fraternity, and the smell of alcohol hit Daichi immediately as they stepped in.

“This is _lit_!” Bokuto cheered loudly.  He and Kuroo disappeared in seconds, and Oikawa was obviously excited.

“Ooh, a beer!” Oikawa grabbed a beer laying on the floor (thankfully unopened), and made his way through the crowd.  A swarm of girls followed after him, squealing and gasping.

“Well, that was fast,” Daichi nearly shouted, looking up at Ushijima.

“I’m not even surprised.”

“Me neither.”  The two of them wandered around, observing the events.  Most people were standing around a drinking, some people were leaning against walls, sitting on couches, and laying on tables while making out, and there was also a large area where people were dancing.  Daichi thought he saw Oikawa’s snapback amidst the dancing, but didn’t bother to look more closely.  “Might as well have a drink.”

“Go for it,” Ushijima lightly tossed a can to Daichi, who opened it and took a sip.  The bitter drink ran down his throat and he cringed for a moment.  He wasn’t a huge fan of the flavor, but he probably could stand to relax.

“You have one, too,” Daichi managed to choke out.

“I’m fine.”

“Ushijima, you could stand to loosen up too.”

“I’m going to regret this.”  The lefty grabbed a bottle and opened it easily, swigging the drink.  “I forgot how good this shit is.”

“See?”

“Okay, I’ll give you that.”  The two sat and watched the people at the party, occasionally pointing out something funny or stupid, like the girl trying to do a back-bend on the dining room table, or the guys grinding against the lamp.  Daichi occasionally took sips, but he realized that Ushijima had gone through two or three cans.

“You might want to slow down,” Daichi tried to push the drink away from Ushijima’s lips.

“ _Nah_ ,” he slurred, bringing the drink back to his lips.  “I’m… good.”

“You sure?”

“I’m great!”

“Are you drunk?”  
“No!  Why would you _say_ that?”

“No reason,” Daichi shrugged, holding his laughter in.

“Hey, we need an extra player for some beer pong!” a voice shouted above the music.

“Beer pong?  Bye, Daichi!” Ushijima slammed his drink down and stumbled out of the kitchen area, where he had just been sitting on a stool with Daichi.  The Karasuno-alum shook his head and pulled his phone out, trying to look like he was doing something.  He ended up sending a snapchat of his feet to Suga, saying “ _This is stupid”_.  It was early morning in the U.S, though, so he doubted that he would get a response.  Someone sat down on Ushijima’s former stool, and Daichi looked up, expecting to come face-to-face with some random drunk person.

“What’s up, Sawamura?” Minami raised and eyebrow and brought a cup to his lips.  
“Minami?” Daichi put his drink on the counter and slid it away from him.   _If an upperclassman saw me or the others underage drinking…_

“It’s fine,” Minami laughed, waving his hand.  “Tachibana and I got shit faced as first years too. Actually I’m sure everyone did, and if they tell you otherwise, they’re lying”

“Oh, thank god,” Daichi chuckled, grabbing his drink again and taking a sip.   _God, relax!_  “I was going to say…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Minami shrugged.

“Why are you here anyways, Minami-san?”

“Drop the honorifics,” he responded.  “Tachibana dragged me along.”

“Basically what happened to me.”

“Tachiboke’s probably making out with someone or some _thing_.”  A lot of squealing and laughing was heard, and moments later, Tachibana stumbled through the doorway.  He had four inebriated girls clinging onto him, his arms wrapped around some of their waists, as they slurred words together to somehow form sentences.  

“Speak of the devil.”

“Yeah, and I have to deal with _that_ all night,” Minami groaned.

“I don’t mean to one-up you, but I have to deal with 4.”  Daichi tilted his chin up, gesturing over to Ushijima, who was flinging his arms about and yelling loudly (as Daichi assumed he had just won the round of beer pong).  Kuroo was rolling his shirt up as girls felt his abs and one of them scribbled something on his arm with a sharpie, and Bokuto was leaning against Kuroo for support as he flirted with some girls.  Oikawa was at the edge of the dancing group, with multiple guys and girls fawning adoration over him.

“You… you win,” Minami pitifully replied.  “Well, I’m going to go grab Tachibana before he decides to do something too stupid, so I’ll see you around.”

“Good idea.  See ya’.”  Minami weaved his way through the crowd, leaving Daichi sitting by himself, yet again.  A loud commotion was heard and Ushijima tripped out of the crowd, grabbing the seat next to Daichi to support himself.

“Hello!” he shouted.

“Ushiwaka, quiet down a bit,” Daichi snickered.

“I can _be_ as… loud as _I_ want!” He was obviously having trouble balancing, so Daichi basically sat him down in the chair.  He was still leaning to the side, as if he were going to fall over, but Daichi didn’t feel like helping him out with that.

“Alright, whatever you say,” Daichi sighed to himself, taking another drink.  Suddenly, Oikawa burst through a crowd of people and landed head-first in Daichi's lap, who shoved him off quickly.

“Hey guys!” Oikawa sloppily greeted.  “I am having _so_ … much.. Fun!”

“You are _way_ … too… drunk,” Daichi mocked.  “You too, Ushijima.”

“Nah,” Ushijima waved his hand.

“Ushiwaka,” Oikawa stood next to the lefty, grabbing onto the counter for support.  “Are _you_ having fun?”

“Hell yeah!”

“Hey!  Hey!” Kuroo’s slow voice broke through their conversation and he joined the group.

“Where’s Bo?” Daichi asked.

“He’s, like…” Kuroo looked up, narrowing his eyes, as if he were in thought.  “Up throwing?”

“Up… throwing?”

“That thing where the stuff is coming out from his mouth.”

“Throwing up?” Oikawa added, and he and Ushijima began giggling.

“Yeah!  This is, like… the twenty-fiftieth time, too.”

“He’s thrown up more?” Daichi was slightly concerned.

“I mean, yeah.”

“Oya… oya…” Bokuto crawled over before flipping onto his back, clutching his stomach.

“Bo, are you alright?” Ushijima asked.  Despite his worry, Daichi was trying not to break out laughing because all of his roommates were speaking unnaturally slowly.

“I’m… fantastic,” Bokuto held a thumbs up before his arms flopped down and he lay motionless.

“Is he alright?”  
“He’s fantastic!” Oikawa insisted.  “Gosh, Dai-chan, are you deaf?”

“Did you know that the moon is moving away from Earth?” Kuroo blurted.

“It is…?” Oikawa’s laughter immediately stopped and he began crying, an ugly, shaky wail.

“Don’t cry!” Ushijima pat Oikawa’s shoulder, attempting to calm him down.  Tears streamed down Oikawa’s face as the rest of the group looked at him.

“It’s true!” Kuroo continued on, as if he hadn’t destroyed Oikawa’s feelings.  “And polar bears can run 25 miles per hour and jump 6 feet high! That’s,” Kuroo hiccupped “Almost as high as shrimpy.”

“Trashykawa, you’re crying is making me want to throw up,” Bokuto complained, but Oikawa kept sobbing.

“Wait!” Ushijima gasped.  “We should do… karaoke!”

“Fuck yeah!” Kuroo pumped his fist in the air, almost knocking out Daichi.

“Yay…” Bokuto raised his head slightly from where he was on the ground.  Oikawa had stopped crying and was instead clapping his hands.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Daichi disapproved.

“Yeah, because it’s a _great_ idea!” Kuroo retorted.  “Let’s go!”  Kuroo practically dragged Bokuto over to the room with the karaoke machine, and Ushijima and Oikawa stumbled after them.

“Oh no,” Daichi followed after them, more steadily than them.  Kuroo was already at the machine, scrolling through the song choices.

“What about _Fancy_ ?” Oikawa suggested.  
“Hell yeah!” the rest of them cheered.  They gathered around the two microphones and hit the play button, staring at the TV screen at the other side of the room.  A crowd had gathered and began whooping and cheering loudly as Daichi stood, his face beet-red, in the front row.

At first, Daichi was actually kind of impressed.  They were ‘talk-rapping’ and actually knew the words, and Ushijima and Kuroo were leading the group.  Bokuto would throw in a few words and step back to dance a little bit, and then Oikawa was in front of them all dancing erotically.  All the girls in the room, and a few guys, were screaming loudly.

After the first chorus, things began to fall apart.  Oikawa’s dancing faded out and he began crying, trying to sing the song, and Bokuto had just flopped down and lay on the floor, occasionally flailing an arm or something out-of-time with the song.  Ushijima and Kuroo didn’t know the words and were making up their own words and lyrics, such as “my crow big-hearted” and “give that honey a life”.  Everyone in the room was hollering with laughter, but the entertainers were oblivious to the laughter and kept powering through the song.

Daichi was near tears by the time the song ended and his hand shook as he brought his phone down, stopping the recording.  Ushijima and Kuroo were bowing extravagantly and thanking everyone, while Bokuto tripped out of the room (probably to throw up), and Oikawa was wiping tears away from his eyes as fangirls surrounded him.

“Kuroo, meet me out front with the rest of them,” Daichi yelled over the commotion.

“But _why_?”

“Because Bokuto’s probably going to die if he keeps this up” Daichi hurried out of the room and found Bokuto laying on top of the toilet, having just gotten sick.  “Bo, are you alright?”  Bokuto nodded his head before gagging again, and Daichi turned his head away.

“We’re going to leave, alright?”

“Okaaaaay.”  Bokuto attempted to stand up but almost fell on the counter, so Daichi ended up carrying him through all the rooms and to the front door, princess-style.  Numerous people whistled at them and cheered him on, so Bokuto wrapped his arms around Daichi’s neck.

“Dai-chan, you’re _so_ strong,” Bokuto purred.

“Shut the fuck up,” Daichi snorted.  Surprisingly, Kuroo, Oikawa, and Ushijima were laying on the front lawn.  Daichi could faintly hear Kuroo spitting out random facts as Oikawa and Ushijima were laughing much too loudly.  “Hey, guys.”

“Dai-chan!” Oikawa beamed.  “Look how _pretty_ the stars are!”

“Did you know space is _really_ , like, really big?” Kuroo added.

“Where are we going?  I was having _fun_!” Ushijima pouted.

“Bokuto,” Daichi paused as he lightly placed Bokuto on the ground.  “Is sick, so we’re going back.”

“How are we going to get back there?” Oikawa dramatically tilted his head to the side, like a dog.

“I… I don’t know,” Daichi murmured.  “I’m going to make a phone call.”  Bokuto threw up again, and Daichi was afraid he was going to choke on his vomit, so he propped the drunk wing-spiker up against himself.   _Eh, fuck it_ .  He thought.   _If I get vomit on me I’ll just… wash it out_.  He pulled his phone out and began dialing a phone number.  

“Hello?” Suga’s voice interrupted the second ring.

“Hey, Koushi,” Daichi greeted.

“Is everything alright?  Why are you calling me at-”

“Is that _Suga-chan_?!” Oikawa yanked the phone out of Daichi’s hands.  “Hi, Suga-chan!”

“Suga!” Kuroo and Ushijima bubbled, trying to grab the phone from Oikawa.

“Give that back!” Daichi roared, and Oikawa immediately flung the phone back at him.  Oikawa and Ushijima began dying of laughter, laying on top of each other and screeching.  “Sorry, Suga.”

“Is everything… alright?”

“Suga, _help_.”

“Oh, god.”

“Please don’t say anything until I explain, okay?” Daichi shushed Ushijima and Oikawa as they were crying from laughing so hard, and as Kuroo was holding Bokuto and stroking his hair while telling him something about Earth’s magnetic field.

“Well, shit, Daichi.”

“So… we are at a party-”

“Daichi!” Suga aggressively cut in.  “What have I told you about-”

“Koushi, let me finish!” Daichi begged.

“Sorry, sorry.”

“Anyways, they decided it would be a good idea to drive here, and so they’re all drunk and I’m not, but I don’t have my license.”

“Right…”

“So what’s the better option: having one of them driving drunk or have me, without a license, driving a group of underage, drunk college students?”

“Well, I wouldn’t let them behind the wheel _sober_ , Daichi,” Suga answered before pausing.  “I think you’re going to have to take one for the team.”

“Fuck.”

“He just swore!” Oikawa and Ushijima cackled.

“I hope you get home in one piece,” Sugawara sighed.  “I have to go to class, but text me when you get back, alright?”

“If we get back,” Daichi muttered.  “Love you.”

“Love you.”  The call cut off and Daichi was returned to reality as he gazed at the four drunk guys in front of him.  Oikawa had passed out on Ushijima, who was sitting with his legs crossed, and Kuroo was holding Bokuto an arms-distance away, trying to keep Bokuto from drowning in his own vomit.

“Okay, let’s load up,” Daichi clasped his hands together.

“I call… shotgun,” Bokuto moaned, wiping his mouth, as Kuroo carried him towards the car.  Ushijima had slung Oikawa over his shoulder and was carrying him.

“Bo, I need your keys.”

“Mmk.  In ma’ pocket.”  Bokuto lightly smacked his front left pocket with his hands.

“You can get it yourself.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Kuroo-”

“I got this,” Kuroo stood Bokuto up, who was leaning against his car, and stuck his hand down Bokuto’s front pocket.

“Bro, don’t touch my dick,” Bokuto grumbled.

“Sorry, bro,” Kuroo took his hand out of his friend’s pocket, successfully holding the keys up.  “Daichi, think fast!”  Suddenly, the keys hit Daichi’s face as he glared at the group, not even flinching when the keys hit his forehead.

“He’s pissed!” Ushijima wailed, shoving Oikawa into the car.

“Run!” Kuroo pushed Bokuto into the passenger seat, who limply fell into the seat, and darted around to the other side of the car.

“Let’s just get home,” Daichi slid into the driver’s side, sticking the keys into the ignition.  He had to buckle Bokuto in himself and pushed him so he were leaning against the window, so Daichi opened the window in case he had to throw up, which was likely.  Ushijima and Kuroo sat in the back, with Oikawa squished in the middle, leaning on Ushijima’s shoulder.

“Are you guys buckled in?”

“Yes, dad,” Kuroo stuck his tongue out.  Daichi rolled his eyes and began driving, gripping the wheel tightly.  Ushijima and Kuroo were snickering in the back, whispering about something, and Bokuto kept making incoherent sounds.  Suddenly, Daichi felt a tickle at the back of his neck and jerked the steering wheel too-far when they went to turn, resulting in Bokuto being flung around, Ushijima and Kuroo screaming, and Daichi swearing loudly.

“What the hell?!” Daichi scolded, regaining control of the car.

“Sorry!” Ushijima apologized.  “It was Kuro-chan’s idea.”

“Kuro-chan?” Kuroo responded.  “You gave me a nickname?”

“Of course!”

“I love you!”

“I love you, too!” Daichi faintly heard what sounded like crying and cringed as Bokuto’s retching filled his ears.

“Please let us get home in one piece, please let us get home in one piece…”

 

***

 

Daichi leaned back in his seat, moving his fingers to regain movement.  He had been clutching the steering wheel so tightly, afraid of screwing up; he turned around in his seat to look at everyone.  Ushijima and Kuroo were unbuckling themselves and getting out of the car.

“Make sure one of you grabs Oikawa,” Daichi ordered, sliding out of his side of the car and going over to Bokuto’s.  “Bo, how are you holding up?”

“Mm.”

“Great.”  Daichi wrapped Bokuto’s arm around his shoulder and grunted as Bokuto allowed _all_ of his weight to lean on Daichi, so he was practically dragging Bokuto.  He twisted his head around to see Ushijima and Kuroo carrying Oikawa, one at each end of his body, into the apartment complex.  They got inside, took the elevator, and arrived back at the room faster than expected.

“Dai-chan, I’m gonna’ throw up,” Bokuto said.

“Goddammit,” Daichi scrambled, tearing through the kitchen cabinets, and found the biggest bowl they had before sliding it over to Bokuto.  Within seconds, Bokuto threw up into the bowl and Daichi walked away, watching as Kuroo and Ushijima set Oikawa on the floor.

“Mission accomplished,” they high-fived each other.

“I have _another_ great idea,” Ushijima proposed.

“Please, no,” Daichi pleaded.

“Let’s play truth or dare!”

“Yes!” Kuroo slammed his fists on the table as he fell into the chair.

“Yeah,” Bokuto wandered over to the table and managed to fit himself into a chair, coughing slightly.  Oikawa jerked up, from his spot on the floor, turning to face Daichi with wide eyes and a shaky lip.

“Dai-chan, Iwa-chan’s going to leave me!” Oikawa cried loudly.

“What?  No,” Daichi scoffed.

“He-he’s going to leave me for _his_ setter,” Oikawa’s nose was running at this point.  

“Oikawa, Hajime isn’t going to leave you.” Daichi tried to sound reassuring.

“But he’s prettier than me… and better at volleyball and and he has-”

“Oikawa-”

“ _Green eyes_!”

“I think maybe we just need to go to bed, no truth or dare-”

“Dai-chan is _so_ boring,” Kuroo stuck his tongue out.

“Yeah!” Ushijima added, slapping Oikawa’s back too-hard.  Oikawa coughed and made a weird choking noise, and Ushijima hugged him.  Oikawa returned the favor as his sniffles became high-pitched giggles.

“Fine,” Daichi sighed, rubbing his temples.  “I’m going to regret this.”

“Yay!” Kuroo pitched in, and Bokuto gave a thumbs up as he rested his head on the table.

“I’m choosing first!” Oikawa declared, raising his arm.  “Dai-chan, truth or dare?”

“Why do I have this nickname?”

“ _Truth_ … or _dare_?”

“Truth, I guess.”  Daichi rested his face in his hands.

“Are you a virgin?” Oikawa demanded.  The rest of the group began hollering hysterically, and Kuroo proceeded to hit his hands against the table multiple times.  Daichi chuckled lightly, feeling heat rise to his cheeks.  They all calmed down and turned to him, Oikawa wiping tears from his eyes.

“What?  You thought I was?” Daichi raised his eyebrows.  “Suga took care of that a long time ago.”  Oikawa began screaming and almost fell out of his chair, while Kuroo, Bokuto, and Ushijima just gaped at him.

“No!” Bokuto plugged his ears and began singing to himself.  Oikawa was crying again, holding his stomach, as he lay on the floor.

“My turn,” Daichi continued.  “Kuroo, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to spin around for 10 seconds.”

“ _Easy_ ,” Kuroo scoffed.  He stood up and walked to the center of the room as Daichi opened up a timer on his phone.

“Ready, set, go.”  Kuroo began spinning around, his arms out wide.  He made it two seconds before he slipped and fell on the floor, his back hitting the ground with a loud thump.  The rest of the group cringed, but Kuroo just began loudly laughing, still lying on his back.

“Are you alright?” Ushijima peered over the table to get a better look at Kuroo.

“Amazing,” Kuroo giggled, and the rest of the drunken college boys joined in, while Daichi just face-palmed.  “Bo, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to…” Kuroo pushed himself off the ground and brought a hand to his chin.  “I dare you to show us your best dance moves.”

“Alrighty,” Bokuto stood up shakily and, still holding his bowl, walked to the living room.  Everyone’s eyes trailed after him, amused, as Kuroo turned some music on.  It was awful techno/rap, but Bokuto got right into it.  He shook his hips and ran his hands all over his body, not one bit concerned.  Kuroo, Oikawa, and Ushijima were in tears from laughing, and Daichi just had his hands up to his mouth, trying not to die from second-hand embarrassment.  Then, Bokuto threw the bowl away from him and grabbed the couch, beginning to grind his hips against it.

“Oooh, get it!” Oikawa cheered, while Ushijima whistled shrilly.

“Yeah Bo!” Kuroo cried out, his words trailing off into a chortle.  Daichi was covering his face at this point, not wanting to see anymore.

“Fuck my life,” he muttered.  He moved his hands just slightly, so he could see through his fingers, and watched as Bokuto lost his balance and fell over the top of the couch.  Kuroo paused the music and a dull thud was heard as Bokuto’s body landed on the floor, a weak laugh coming from that side of the room.  The group began laughing harder than before, even through the retching noises that followed soon after.

“Well,” Kuroo snorted  “He won’t be getting up anytime soon.  Assikawa, truth or dare?”

“Truth!” Oikawa crossed his arms.

“Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever fucked?”

“Goddammit, Kuroo!” Daichi slammed his elbows on the table and grabbed his head in his hands.

“That’s a good question,” Oikawa paused, appearing pensive.  “We fucked in the locker room once-”

“Once?” Bokuto’s voice echoed.

“We have also fucked in the car-”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Daichi cut him off, holding a hand up.

“Iwa-chan!” Kuroo mocked, raising his voice to imitate Oikawa.  Daichi jerked forward, bursting into laughter, as Ushijima let out a screech from laughing too hard.  Bokuto began cackling in the other section of the apartment as Oikawa’s face lit up in a bright shade of red.

“Harder, Iwa-chan, harder!” Bokuto decided would be a good addition.

“Fuck off!” he waved his hand.  “Ushiwaka, truth or _deer_?”  He quickly changed the subject, even though he was obviously annoyed.

“Deer?” Ushijima sputtered, beginning to laugh even more.  He threw his head back, letting out what sounded like a monkey screaming, as Oikawa’s lip quivered.  He burst into tears, wailing loudly.  “Aw, Trashykawa, don’t cry.”  He leaned over to Oikawa and hugged him, patting his shoulder.  Between sniffles, Oikawa looked up at Ushijima.  An uncomfortable feeling rose in Daichi’s stomach as he watched the two staring at each other.  All of a sudden, their lips were pressed together and they were running their hands over each other’s bodies.

“No, no, no!” Daichi yelled, waving his arms around.

“Ay!” Kuroo cheered.  Daichi had to turn away, as he couldn’t bear the sight of his _two roommates (one with a boyfriend) making out_ , but he guessed that their kissing had progressed.  A loud thump was heard and he looked back up to see their chairs empty.  Apparently, they had fallen on the floor, where gasps of air and moans arose from the floor.  Daichi was panicking slightly and had no idea what to do.

“Fuck, fuck,” Daichi swore.

“Kuro!” Bo leapt up from the floor with a new surge of energy.

“Yeah, bro?”  
“I love you.”

“I love you, too!”

“Wanna’ kiss?”

“Bro, you just threw up like 30 times.”

“I’ll brush my teeth.”  Bokuto sloppily darted out of the room, running into three walls, and disappeared into the bathroom.  Daichi watched in horror as Bokuto emerged and flashed a grin at Kuroo before crossing the room and sitting on Kuro’s lap, straddling him.  Their mouths immediately met, and Daichi found himself sandwiched between two couples, aggressively making out, who _weren’t even together_ .  He whipped out his phone and sent a picture of his frantic face to Suga with the caption _“THEY’RE MAKING OUT HELP ME_ ”.  After hitting send, he leaned his arms on the table and buried his face in his hands, trying to block out the gross sounds the pairs were making.  His phone buzzed and Daichi opened it up to see a picture of Suga leaning on his arms, his lips formed in a pout.   _“I’d rather be there tho_.”  Daichi almost let out a snort before he looked up and his face contorted in disgust.  Ushijima and Oikawa were attempting to remove each other’s clothing, so Daichi ran over and grabbed Oikawa, who was lying on top of Ushijima.

“That’s enough,” he grumbled, somehow hauling the setter off of the lefty.

“Ushiwaka-chan!” Oikawa pined.

“Nope,” Daichi carried Oikawa to his room by his shirt and dropped him on the bed before shutting the door.  “Ushijima, we’re going to bed.”

“Together?”

“NO!” Daichi shouted much-too loudly.  He looked back at Kuroo and Bokuto, who were basically smacking their lips together and running their hands under one another’s shirts.   _They’ll be fine…_  Daichi grabbed Ushijima by the collar of his shirt and dragged the latter to their bedroom, closing the door behind them.

“I’m not tired!” Ushijima slumped on his bed, sticking his chin out and crossing his arms.

“Well, I’m going to beat your ass if you don’t go to bed.”

“Fine.  Going to bed.”  Ushijima rolled his eyes and lay his head on the pillow, and within moments, he was fast asleep.  Daichi lay down in his bed, covering his ears with his pillow to block out the loud sounds of Bokuto and Kuroo coming from the main area.

 

***

 

Daichi was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and sipping some coffee as he read the newspaper.  They had afternoon practice, but he had decided to get up earlier so he could give Suga a call.  The article he was reading was something stupid about a police chase that happened on bicycle and how it went on for 3 hours, but his eyes were mindlessly glancing at the page.  He heard footsteps and looked up to see Ushijima walking out of their room; it was weird to see him getting up _after_ Daichi because he usually went for a morning run each day and got up before everyone else.

“How are you, soldier?” Daichi asked, looking back at the newspaper.

“ _Awful_ ,” Ushijima responded, sitting down at the table.  “I have the worst fucking headache.”

“Hungover for practice,” Daichi brought his coffee to his lips.  “Good job.”

“Shit.”  He lay his head on the table while Daichi sorted through their cabinet of random things, finding Advil and chucking a little pack to Ushijima.  It hit him square in the back of the head, and he let out a groan as he lifted his head.  Once realizing it was Advil, Ushijima ripped the package open and swallowed the two pills _dry_.

“Don’t you need water?” Daichi’s jaw dropped.

“No,” Ushijima waved his hand before laying on the side of his face.  “Okay, seriously, though.  I need you to tell me if something that ‘happened’ was a dream or not.”

“Oh, god.”

“So I thought that I made out with Oikawa and we began, like, getting physical about it?  I know it sounds weird… it was probably just some weird-ass dream.”

“Well, Ushiwaka, I’ve got some news for you.”

“You’re fucking with me,” Ushijima sat up immediately.  “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was.”

“No!” Ushijima covered his face with his hands, repeating the word multiple times along with a slew of swear words.  Before his act could continue, though, Oikawa walked into the main area.  He had to go to work, but he looked like he should’ve taken the day off: bags were under his glazed brown eyes and he seemed more tame than usual.  Daichi glanced at Ushijima, who had turned away from the two of them and had his hands over his head.

“Whew!  What a fucking headache I have,” Oikawa beamed sarcastically, pouring coffee into his cup.  “But I still have to go to work.”

“That’s what happens when you get drunk,” Daichi muttered to himself, last night’s events popping into his mind, causing him to cringe.

“Ushiwaka, what are you doing?”

“Hungover.”

“Oh, we’re down to one word sentences?” Oikawa joked.  “Well, I gotta’ go.  Bye bitches!”  Oikawa walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind.  Daichi and Ushijima looked at each other, wide-eyed.

“Is he just… is he just ignoring it or…?” Ushijima trailed off, his eyes darting to the door.

“I think he-”  The door slammed back open and Oikawa was clumsily running through the apartment.

“I forgot my phone!” he screeched, before running back out of his room.  He was gone just as quickly as he appeared, leaving Daichi and Ushijima completely surprised.

“As I was saying…” Daichi continued.  “I think he genuinely doesn’t remember.”

“I hope he forgot.”

“Me too.”

“Why you?” Ushijima narrowed his eyes.  “ _You_ weren’t the one that… agh, god, made out with Oikawa last night.”

“Because if Hajime found out…” Daichi stopped talking, watching as Ushijima’s eyes widened.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

“Well howdy!” a voice interrupted their conversation, and they looked up to see Kuroo grinning.  His hair was even messier than usual as he lumbered into the kitchenette, grabbing milk from the fridge and pouring it into a glass.

“You’re cheery this fine morning,” Daichi remarked.

“I put on a _facade_ when I’m hungover,” Kuroo explained.

“That makes sense,” Ushijima nodded his head.

“Wait, what the fuck?” Kuroo looked at his arms.  There were many, _many_ numbers written all over Kuroo’s arms in what Daichi presumed was sharpie.  “What’s this?”

“Apparently,” Daichi walked over and grabbed Kuroo’s arm, trying to make out the numbers.  “You’re quite the womanizer.”

“I have a boyfriend!”

“Is it Bokuto?” Daichi snorted.  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Uh… nothing,” the Karasuno-alum shook his head.  “We need to get Bo out here.”

“Why?” Ushijima and Kuroo asked.

“Just to chat,” Daichi lied.

“ _Bo!_ ” Kuroo yelled, extremely loud.  A muffled groan was heard soon after.  “At least he stopped throwing up at, like, 2.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Daichi sighed.  “I thought he was going to throw his entire body up.”  Bokuto appeared, his gray and white hair completely disheveled and looking more tired than usual.

“Why the fuck did you wake me up?”

“Good morning, sunshine,” Kuroo taunted.

“Fuck you.”  He turned to go back to his bedroom, but Daichi grabbed his arm and pulled him to the dining room table.

“Everyone sit down,” Daichi commanded, all of them following his orders.  “Okay.  Does anyone remember what happened last night?”  He slyly glanced towards Ushijima, who looked like he was going to die of embarrassment.

“I don’t know,” Bokuto brought his hand to his chin.  “Damn, I have a headache!”

“We all do,” Ushijima muttered.

“Didn’t we play truth or dare?” Kuroo thought-aloud.

“Yes,” Daichi slowly said.  “ _Then_ what happened?”

“I have no idea,” Bokuto and Kuroo answered in unison.

“Please don’t,” Ushijima begged.

“I’m just gonna’ say that Ushijima and Oikawa, um,” Daichi could already feel his cheeks heating up.  “Might have kissed.”

“What?!” Bokuto cried out.  Kuroo looked just as shocked, as his jaw almost touched the ground.  Their laughter soon filled the room as they were doubled over, clutching their stomachs.

“I regret it completely!” Ushijima sputtered.  “Stop!”  That didn’t stop their laughter, though.

“Alright, alright,” Daichi raised his hands to calm them down.  After wiping a few tears away, Kuroo and Bokuto finally calmed down (well, not really, since they were still biting their lips to keep from laughing).

“Why do you bring this up, anyways?” Kuroo folded his arms across his chest, just as Bokuto nearly blew a raspberry to keep from bursting into a fit of laughter.

“Because,” Daichi said.  “We can’t let Iwaizumi find out.”

“Why?”

“He will murder all of us.”

“...good point,” Kuroo and Bokuto quickly nodded their heads.

“Do you guys remember what _you_ did?” Daichi questioned.

“Did we fuck?” Bokuto leaned forward in his chair, slapping his thighs.

“Sweet!” Kuroo wrapped an arm around Bokuto’s shoulder.

“Ah, fucking god,” Daichi grabbed some yen and placed in it in the swear jar as the duo shrieked due to his swearing.  “I… I don’t think so.  You two for sure kissed, though.”

“Awesome!” the two exclaimed.

“You two have boyfriends, though,” Ushijima pointed out.

“ _Not_ awesome,” Kuroo frowned.

“At least _I’m_ loyal,” Daichi scoffed.

“You could cheat on Suga _so_ easily!” Bokuto gasped.  “I mean, you live like an ocean away-”

“Well, I’m a good boyfriend, unlike _some_ people.”  Daichi glared directly at Kuroo and Bokuto, who shuddered under the intense gaze.  “The takeaway from this conversation is to not mention _anything_ that happened last night, okay?”

“What happened last night?” Bokuto furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side.  “I have _no_ , absolutely _zero_ , idea of what you’re talking about.”

“That’s the spirit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of these things are bad, THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. but it's college and things like this do and I can attest to that as some of these are actual experiences of mine, things I have witnessed, or stories I've been told. Please be safe and don't follow the example we've written here. 
> 
> ~trashcan-kitty


	13. Honey, We Broke the Kids (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finals are looming and the boys are panicking. Namely, Bokuto and Kuroo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *coughs awkwardly* well, guys, i know it's been a few weeks since - oh, what was that? 3 months? oh... dear... god
> 
> while we did plan on being very busy, Kitty and I got very busy (to say the least) and... we apologize greatly. Honestly, i don't know what to say because it has just been absolutely hectic for both of us, and we are so sorry about that. Thank you all for your patience, support, and sticking with us. hopefully this makes it up... *fingers crossed*
> 
> also if you have not noticed, I (Jilly) am going through all the /posted/ chapters to tidy up some grammatical stuff and just make it better. (also, i apologize to Ushijima because his mischaracterization brought me to TEARS the other day).
> 
> rambling aside, we hope you enjoy this chapter :-)

It was the middle of January and the guys were at the apartment.  The semester was wrapping up, meaning that their grades were being finalized and their finals were coming up faster than they expected.  They had been spending a lot more time working on their school work, and even practices had been letting out early (if only by 20 minutes, but it still helped) so they could get a jump on studying.

Daichi was sitting at the dining room table, multiple folders and notebooks spread out as he flipped through some note-cards with math formulas and equations scribbled on them.  His eyes were  _ looking _ at the numbers and letters, but Daichi really didn’t feel like it was processing.  With a sigh, he set the cards on the table and looked up at the others.

Oikawa was sitting a seat away from him, his lips moving as if he were talking to himself as his eyes scanned a textbook.  Ushijima was opposite of Oikawa, typing away at his computer.  Apparently he had an essay due for one of his classes and, despite usually being on-time with those sorts of things, had procrastinated and fallen behind.

Daichi looked over to see Bokuto and Kuroo, both of them studying frantically.  Bokuto had good reason to be cramming last minute and was basically learning a semester’s worth of material for 5 classes, while Kuroo was just freaking out about his grades in general even though he had all A’s.  Daichi nudged Oikawa, who raised his eyebrows without looking up, until Daichi nudged him again.

“I’m studying how Newton’s Laws are still relevant today, what is more important than that?” Oikawa scoffed, setting the book down.  Daichi didn’t say anything, instead tilting his chin up to gesture to the other room.  Ushijima took notice of the two and followed their gaze, the three of them staring at Kuroo and Bokuto.

Bokuto was pacing around the room, holding two textbooks and whispering madly, abruptly changing direction and nearly knocking the TV over.  Kuroo was fidgeting and changed his sitting position multiple times in the span of the other 3 roommates watching for a few seconds.

“Hey, guys,” Daichi announced.  “Let’s take a break from studying.”

“Can’t,” the duo replied in unison, both of their voices eerily monotone.

“It’s only going to affect you negatively if you cram for 6 hours straight,” Ushijima advised.

“Yeah.  You guys have been studying for what… 3 hours?” Daichi glanced at the clock.  The two had woken up at 8:00, and it was almost 11:30.

“That’s a record,” Oikawa snickered, earning a light punch from Daichi.

“Nope,” Bokuto didn’t even look up from his math book.

“My brain… hurts,” Kuroo groaned loudly, leaning back.

“That’s why,” Daichi stood up and walked over to the two, snatching their books away and somehow fitting multiple notebooks and textbooks into his arms.  “You two are relaxing for a while.”

“But the pythagorean theorem!” Bokuto lunged for Daichi, who spun out of Bokuto’s grasp.  “And Pascal’s Circle, and-”

“The biceps brachii helps control the motion of two different joints,” Kuroo blurted, staring straight ahead.

“Guys!” Daichi silenced the group, and the two looked at him nervously.  “Just sit down and relax, watch some TV or something.  My brain hurts just from  _ listening _ to the two of you.”

“Fine,” Bokuto pouted, crossing his arms and falling onto the couch.  Kuroo nodded his head meekly and walked over to the kitchenette.

“Hey, Ushiwaka,” Kuroo began, grabbing a 2 liter of Coke from the fridge.  “Does the gluteus medius rotate the thigh laterally?”

“No, that’s the gluteus maximus,” Ushijima responded immediately.

“Ah, fuck!” Kuroo slammed his fists on the counter.  Oikawa cringed and picked his textbook back up, pushing his glasses up his nose.  Daichi heard a high-pitched noise and whipped his head around, finding the source coming from Bokuto as he was screaming without opening his mouth.

“Kuroo?” Ushijima’s voice broke Daichi from his thoughts.  “Are you okay?”  Kuroo was standing at the kitchen counter, looking down.  However, he was pouring the Coke out  _ beside _ the cup, the sticky liquid spilling over the counter and onto the floor.  The 3 roommates who  _ weren’t  _ freaking out all watched in shock.

“Kuroo,” Daichi scurried over, yanking the 2 liter from his hands.  “We’re just going to go chill out, okay?”

“Mhm.”

“Oikawa, come help me clean this up.”

“I wasn’t the one who spilled soda everywhere like a 3 year old!” Oikawa complained, even though he stood up and grabbed some paper towels.  He began wiping it all up as Daichi sat Kuroo down on the couch besides Bokuto, a sniffle coming from Bokuto.  Before he knew it, the two were full-on crying, and Daichi looked at Ushijima.  Horror was written on Daichi’s face, while Ushijima wore a frown, and they had no idea of what to do.

“How does ice cream sound?” Daichi blurted.  Through the tears, Kuroo and Bokuto nodded their heads.   _ They  _ are _ kind of like 3 year olds _ …

“Okay,” Ushijima grabbed Bokuto’s car keys.

“I’m not done cleaning!” Oikawa screeched.

“We’re going anyways,” Daichi helped guide Bokuto and Kuroo to the door.  Ushijima was following the group and looked back as Oikawa scrambled up and out of the kitchen, grabbing a jacket and his scarf.

“Why are we getting ice cream in the winter?!” Oikawa hobbled down the hallway.

“Ice cream sounds good,” Bokuto mumbled.

“Because,” Daichi gestured towards the spiky-haired hitter.  “‘Ice cream sounds good.’”

 

* * *

 

The 5 roommates found soon found themselves at an ice cream place called “The Frozen Spoon.”  What normally would have been a 5 minute drive was right around 2 minutes thanks to Ushijima’s fast driving.  Daichi nearly hit his head on the window and was pretty sure Oikawa was crushed by Kuroo, who wasn’t even attempting to sit up on his own.

The group walked into the ice cream parlor and walked to the ordering area.  The place, unsurprisingly, wasn’t very crowded since it was the middle of winter.  The worker at the counter seemed surprised that there were even customers in the place.

“Hi, welcome to The Frozen Spoon,” the girl greeted, monotone.  “What can I get for you today?”   
“Hi,” Daichi scanned the menu quickly.  “I think we might need a moment.”

“Okay.”  The girl immediately grabbed her phone out of her pocket and began typing away at it as the roommates looked at the menu.  Daichi was slightly alarmed when he looked at Kuroo’s and Bokuto’s faces: usually, at the sight of  _ any _ sort of food, they were going wild.  However, they both just seemed tired and bored, their mouths formed into frowns and their eyes drooping.

“Kuroo, Bokuto,” Daichi nudged them.  “What do you want?”  Bokuto mumbled something indiscernible and Kuroo just pointed randomly, nowhere near the menu or at one of the containers of ice cream in the display case.

“Guys, that doesn’t help us,” Oikawa sighed.

“Oikawa, be nice,” Daichi hissed, elbowing the setter.  “What was that, Bo?”

“The…” Bokuto trailed off.  “Str....brr sherb.”

“Str-brr sherb?” Ushijima’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Strawberry sherbert, I think,” Daichi concluded, to which Bokuto nodded his head.

“You’re good at this whole parent thing, Dai-chan.”  Daichi shot Oikawa a look, but Ushijima agreed with Oikawa.

“Kuroo, what do you want?” Daichi changed the subject.

“Mhm.”  Kuroo lazily pointed his hand towards the display case, a sigh escaping Daichi as it was impossible to tell which ice cream he wanted.

“The chocolate?” Oikawa asked.  Kuroo shook his head.  “Vanilla?  Strawberry cheescake?  Mint chocolate chip?”  The setter continued listing the flavors, receiving a disapproving reaction from Kuroo.  With a sigh, Oikawa finished up with the list.  “Cookie dough?  Coffee almond fudge?”

“Mhm!” Kuroo vigorously nodded his head.

“Coffee almond fudge it is, I guess,” Daichi turned back to the server.  “We’ll have a medium mint chocolate, medium strawberry sherbert-”

“You should probably make that a large,” Ushijima interrupted.

“Fine.  A  _ large _ medium strawberry sherbert, a large… what was it?  Coffee almond fudge,” Daichi paused and stepped aside.  “You guys can order.”  Ushijima stepped up, until Oikawa placed himself between Ushijima and the counter.

“I’ll have a medium strawberry cheesecake please,” Oikawa beamed, the server blushing slightly.  “Ushiwaka-chan?”

“Thank you for interrupting me,” Ushijima said..

“Someone’s salty,” Oikawa pursed his lips.

“I’ll have a medium chocolate brownie chunk.”

“Ushiwaka-chan, seriously?!”

“I like my-”

“You two, shut up,” Daichi snapped, handing some money to the girl.  “I already have two adults who are acting like toddlers on my hands, and I don’t need you guys bickering.”

“Fine,  _ dad _ ,” Oikawa stuck his tongue out.  Daichi inhaled deeply to calm down and thanked the server, dragging Bokuto and Kuroo to a booth and shoving them into it.  Oikawa and Ushijima followed behind, sitting opposite of each other.

“Ushijima, can you help me grab all the ice cream?” Daichi requested.

“Sure.”  The lefty stood back up, still maintaining eye contact with Oikawa, as he and Daichi walked towards the front.  The girl had plastic cups filled with the various ice creams sitting on the counter, along with spoons.  The two thanked her and made their way back over to their booth, sliding in and giving each person their respective ice cream.

Bokuto and Kuroo each grabbed their spoons and began stabbing at the ice cream, unnerving the other 3 slightly.  Daichi eyed Kuroo as he spooned his mint chocolate chip ice cream into his mouth.

“So…” Daichi trailed off.  “Practices have been pretty easy, right?”

“Yeah,” Ushijima immediately jumped into the conversation about volleyball.  “They haven’t been making us receive as many.”

“Yeah,” Oikawa’s tone was obviously crisp, and Daichi braced himself for what was to come.  “The usual 100 receives before we get going was lowered to 70.  Good for you, Ushijima, since you struggle so much there.”   
“Oikawa!”

“Oh, really?” Ushijima shook off the insult.  “Well, Akiyama’s serves are quite difficult.”

Oikawa countered, “Only Dai-chan and Kita can receive them.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Daichi added.

“I have before,” Ushijima replied.

“I’ll see it when I believe it.”

“Have you tried to receive their serves?”

“No, but I’m a setter!”

“Can you two,” Daichi gently placed his spoon down on the table, folding his arms.  Oikawa and Ushijima paled as they stared at him, their fighting ceasing.  Bokuto and Kuroo would have normally hid under the table, but they just stared at their bowls.  Bokuto’s lips were moving, but Daichi didn’t know what he was saying; Kuroo was listing things out on his fingers.  “Guys, just take a break from school.  Your brains need a break.”   
“I can’t!” Kuroo came to life, before returning to his reserved state.  Daichi glanced back over at Bokuto, who was shoving his spoon in his sherbert.  He lifted it out of the cold mixture and brought the spoon to his face, where unfortunately, he stabbed his cheek instead of getting it into his mouth.  Daichi, Ushijima, and Oikawa all gaped at him as Bokuto repeatedly hit his cheek.

“Bokuto,” Ushijima said.  “Your mouth.”  Bokuto turned and looked at Ushijima with hollow eyes, still hitting his cheek.  Ushijima then turned to Daichi, and Daichi turned to Bokuto and Kuroo.

“You both need to just take a deep breath, and-”  Kuroo began crying then and there, and Bokuto let out a shrill screech, causing the other 3 roommates to cover their ears.  “Bo, Kuroo, sh!”

“I can’t take it anymore!” Kuroo wailed.  “I just want to know all the muscle structures and how to solve for x in the logarithmic equations and -”

“Why is it ‘A’ squared?!” Bokuto yelled.  “Why is it squared?!”  Oikawa and Ushijima faced Daichi again, having no idea about what to do as the Karasuno-alum stared at the two child-adults.

“Let’s go home.”

 

* * *

 

The guys returned to the apartment, Kuroo and Bokuto still crying and not functioning normally.  Kuroo sat at the dining table, rocking back and forth in the chair with his feet on the seat and whimpering.  Bokuto just lay in the middle of the floor sprawled out, occasionally breathing in deeply and screaming with his exhale.

Oikawa cringed during one of Bokuto’s shrieks and slammed his textbook down, drawing attention from Daichi and Ushijima.

“Okay, for my sake - and theirs of course - this isn’t healthy,” Oikawa nodded towards Bokuto and Kuroo.  “We need to get them some help.”

“What about Kenma and Akaashi?” Ushijima suggested.

“That’s actually… a great idea,” Daichi pulled his phone out and began scrolling through the contacts.  “Why didn’t we think of this before?”

“Yeah, Ushiwaka- _ chan _ ,” Oikawa stuck his tongue out. Ushijima shrugged, and Oikawa rolled his eyes before returning to his textbook.

“Damn, I don’t have either of their numbers,” Daichi set his phone down.   
“Daichi swore?!” Oikawa gasped.

“Shut up!”

“I don’t think I have theirs either,” Oikawa said.

“Me neither,” Ushijima added.

“Well… I can try and get it from someone else.”

“Who?”

“Good question.  Oh, wait,” Daichi picked his phone back up.  “Hinata probably has Kenma’s number!”

“Oh, shrimpy?” Oikawa raised his eyebrows.  “Tell him hi from me!”

“I send my greetings,” Ushijima said, his tone a little heavier than usual.

“We have more important matters to attend to,” Daichi walked out of the room and into his own to avoid being interrupted by bickering or yelling.  The phone rang once, twice, three times… and Daichi’s hope began to fade.  Suddenly, it stopped ringing.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Hinata!” Daichi greeted.

“Daichi-san!” Hinata’s voice blared through the speakers and Daichi had to hold the phone away from him.

“How are you?”

“I am awesome!” Hinata bubbled.  “Kageyama and I have been working on our quick, and the new setter this year isn’t too bad either, so we’re connecting well!”

“That’s great, Hinata,” Daichi tried to calm down the high schooler, wanting to cut to the chase.  “Say, Hinata, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Daichi-san needs a favor from  _ me _ ?” Hinata gasped.  “Of course!”

“Thank you,” Daichi chuckled.  “Do you have Kenma’s phone number!”

“Yeah!  I’ll write it down.”  Daichi heard the clanging of the phone being put on a desk and Hinata mumbling to himself before he began talking again.  “It’s this.”  The excitable spiker read the number off to Daichi, who wrote it down on a piece of notebook paper.

“Thank you, Hinata!” Daichi grinned.  He hung up the phone and opened up and added a new contact, naming it  **_Kenma_ ** **.** Daichi then texted the number.

 

**Hey, Kenma.  It’s Daichi, and I was wondering if you could help with something.**

 

Daichi hesitated before hitting send, because he  _ did _ need help, but it wasn’t really  _ wondering _ it was that they needed to help Kuroo and Bokuto.  Daichi sat on his bed, anticipation building up inside of him, until his phone buzzed and he snatched it.

 

**Yes?**

 

Daichi typed back quickly.

 

**So Kuroo (and Bokuto, but I’ll figure that out later) are stressing out about finals.  Pretty bad.  Do you have any ideas on how to help them?**

 

He placed the phone down but got a buzz quickly after.

 

**Kenma: What do you mean ‘pretty bad?’**

 

**Daichi: They cried and we took them out for ice cream.  They couldn’t order on their own and then took them home after.  They’re both crying and yelling kind of… any suggestions?**

 

**Kenma: Akaashi and I are on our way**

 

“You know now that I think about it we could have just looked it up in either of their phones.”

Daichi sighed in relief and put his phone on his desk before walking back out to the main area.  Oikawa was kneeling on the ground beside Bokuto and Ushijima was sitting by Kuroo.  The two normally-functioning roommates were trying to console the other two, patting their backs as Bokuto and Kuroo blubbered, tears streaming down their faces.

“Bokuto, take a deep breath,” Oikawa calmly instructed.

“But pi times two of the radius is the circumference,” Bokuto replied.  “Or is it the diameter?!  What is pi?!”

“Kuroo, just think, we can go play volleyball later,” Ushijima said.

“Volleyballs hit the person on the  _ brachioradialis, _ ” Kuroo whispered, before snapping his head up.  “Or is it the  _ flexor carpi radialis _ ?!”

“You were right the first time.”

“Hey, hey,” Daichi interrupted them.  “Akaashi and Kenma are on their way.”

“Akaashi?” Bokuto’s bottom lip quivered before he cried even harder.  Kuroo began crying also, thanks to Bokuto.

“Thank god,” Oikawa stood up, leaving Bokuto in a puddle of tears on the floor.

“Be nice,” Daichi frowned.  Hopefully, Akaashi and Kenma would be there shortly; they would have to take the metro across the city and walk from there, about 30 minutes total.

After a half hour of tears, yelling, and attempted comfort, there was a knock on the apartment door.  Daichi had never seen Oikawa move faster in his life, grabbing the door handle and flinging it open.

“You’re here!” Oikawa ushered Kenma and Akaashi in.  “ _ Help us. _ ”

“What is…?” Akaashi trailed off when he saw Bokuto, laying on the floor in a ball with wadded up tissues next to him.  “Oh, my.  Bokuto-san, are you alright?”

“Awagaushee?” Bokuto sniffled.  Akaashi sat on the floor next to him, crossing his legs.  Bokuto moved his head into Akaashi’s lap and began crying again as Akaashi ran his fingers through the spiker’s hair.

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Kenma furrowed his eyebrows, looking almost  _ angry _ .  It didn’t quite suit Kenma’s usually soft features, and Daichi reminded himself to never put Kenma in a situation where he might be mad.

“We… we tried to figure it out ourselves,” Daichi rubbed the back of his neck as Kenma shot him a glare.   _ Scary _ .

“Kuro?” Kenma sat on the chair beside Kuroo.

“Kenma?”  Kuroo flung his arms around Kenma and rested his head on the latter’s shoulder.  “I’m sad.”

“I know.”

“But  _ why _ ?”

“School, probably.”

“It  _ is _ school!” Kuroo’s voice shook.  “How’d you know?”

“I just do.”

Daichi smiled sadly as he looked at the couples, the high schoolers attempting to cheer up the other two.  Ushijima stood near Oikawa, the two whispering heatedly.

“I know you two are fighting, so just stop right now,” Daichi didn’t even turn around.   
“It wasn’t an argument, it was a heated discussion,” Ushijima said.

“Bokuto-san, look,” Akaashi pulled his phone out.  “Look at all these owl pictures.”

“Oh my god,” Oikawa brought a hand to his mouth.

“ _ Owls _ ?” Bokuto began swiping through the pictures.  “Oh, Awkawshi, look at this one with his ears!”

“Yes.”

“And this one’s eyes are so cute!  Doesn’t it look like me?!”

“Yes it does.”

“Kuro, I brought some Disney movies if you want to watch them,” Kenma grabbed some of the cases sitting on the table, Kuroo picking his head up.

“Did you bring  _ The Aristocats _ ?”   
“Of course.”

“I love  _ The Aristocats _ ,” Kuroo started crying again.

“Then we can watch it!” Kenma gently took his hand and pulled him over to the couch before crouching in front of the TV and fiddling with the DVD player.

“Guys, let’s give them some time together,” Daichi walked out of the main living area and into his own bedroom.  He expected Ushijima to follow him, which he did, but not for Oikawa to.  The three of them closed the door, Daichi sitting on his bed, Ushijima flopping on his own, and Oikawa standing in the center.

“Well,” Oikawa sighed.  “I’m  _ not _ studying.”

“Me neither,” Ushijima said into his pillow.

“Yeah,” Daichi agreed.  “Luckily… I have cards!”

“No!” Oikawa yelled, waving his arms.  “We’re not playing Euchre!”  

“We can play Go Fish?” Ushijima turned his head.

“Sure,” Daichi sat down in the middle of the room, grabbing a deck of cards.

“Now  _ that’s _ more my speed,” Oikawa plopped down and Ushijima slid off his bed, crumpling to the floor, before he rearranged his limbs into a sitting position.  “Ushiwaka-chan, that was disturbing.”

“I am almost 190 centimeters tall.”

“I could use to be 190 centimeters tall,” Oikawa pouted.

“Oh, shut up,” Daichi shuffled the cards.  “At least you reach 180.”

“You’re a libero - well,  _ now  _ you are - though,” Oikawa said.  “It makes sense that you’re small.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can lift you up whenever you need to,” Ushijima offered.

“Thanks, Ushiwaka,” Daichi threw the cards towards each person quickly, dealing them out, as Oikawa watched in awe.

“You’re really good at this!”

“I know.”

“And not arrogant,  _ at all _ .”

Ushijima tilted his head slightly.  “But Oikawa, you have confidence in your abilities, don’t you?”

“Your point is?” Oikawa’s lips became a straight line as he studied his cards.

“Nothing.”

“Then don’t say anything!”

“Can we play the stupid game?” Daichi asked.  The two quieted down and began arranging their cards before starting.  Daichi didn’t  _ mind _ that they were playing a kid’s game, but games like Poker and Euchre were definitely more his style.  He began racking up the same groups of cards and had 4 groups quickly.

“Daichi,” Ushijima mumbled.  “Got any 4s?”

“Go fish.”  Ushijima groaned and picked up a card from the pile.  “Ushijima, what is the process for getting your driver’s license?”

“Any queens?” Oikawa interrupted.

“Go fish.”

“Basically,” Ushijima folded his cards towards him.  “You have to apply for the written test and take it, and if you pass, you have to take the driving portion.”

“Any 7s?” Daichi raised an eyebrow, processing the information Ushijima had just told him.

“Hm,” Ushijima flung 2 cards at Daichi.  “Why do you ask?”

“I’m thinking about getting my license.  Or trying to, at least.”

“You’ll pass the driving part just fine,” Ushijima swatted his hand.  “I mean, you did drive us home when we were all intoxicated and you got us home in one piece.  Any jacks?”

“Barely,” Oikawa added, sliding a card over to Ushijima.

“Right.  But how do you study for the written part?”

“There’s things online, and I think I have a booklet somewhere.  I can look for it sometime.”

“Someone tell me you have a 2!” Oikawa exclaimed.

“Nope,” Ushijima and Daichi shook their heads.

“AGH!” Oikawa grabbed a card from the pile in the center.

“So, Oikawa,” Daichi changed the subject.  “First off, any 6s?”

“Goddammit!” Ushijima slapped three cards down.

“Anyways,” Daichi smirked.  “Are you and Iwaizumi okay since… your whole knee thing?”

“Yeah,” Oikawa nodded his head, grabbing four cards from his hand and setting them aside.  “We’re good.  I’m great and he is too!  Except for him and his setter…”   
“What about him?” Ushijima asked.

Oikawa shrugged, “Apparently they don’t get along.” 

“He’s starting though?”

“I guess they make it work.”

“Interesting,” Daichi studied the cards in his hand.

“I’m not surprised,” Oikawa brushed his hair aside as Ushijima drew a card from the center.  “I’m the best setter he’s ever had.”

“You can’t replace a decade of trust in just a few months,” Ushijima sagely said.

“Words of wisdom from Ushijima,” Daichi chuckled.  “But he’s right.  It’s easier for a setter to adjust to a hitter than a hitter to change to a completely different setter, I think.”

“That makes sense,” Oikawa nodded his head.  “Because I can just give the spiker the toss they want, but in other cases, the setter won’t always change for the hitter.  Any Kings, Dai-chan?”

“Nope.”

“Dammit!” Oikawa swiped a card from the center.  “How are you and Suga?”

“We’re… good,” Daichi thought for a moment.  “We kind of hit a rough patch a few weeks ago, but we’re okay, I think.”

“You think?”

“We didn’t formally talk about it, but we’re on good terms for now.”

“Ah,” Oikawa nodded his head.

“What about you, Ushijima?” Daichi didn’t feel like talking about him and Suga.  Not that he  _ didn’t _ want to, but the more he thought about Suga and himself, the more he overanalyzed the whole situation and made him think about how the lingering thought of their relationship not working out.  “You never really talk about your friends from Shiratorizawa or anything.”

“Ushiwaka-chan doesn’t have many friends besides us,” Oikawa teased.

“I do,” Ushijima said evenly.  “Satori, Eita, Reon, Hayato and I keep in touch.”

“Tendou Satori?!” Oikawa gasped.  “He’s hilarious!”

“He… he is something.”

“I remember him,” Daichi put down his last four cards.  “I have 6 sets, I win.”

“Dammit!” Oikawa threw his cards everywhere.

“Clean that up!”

“Make me!”

“I am not afraid to slap you.”

“I’m cleaning up,” Oikawa grumbled, crawling on all fours to pick up the scattered cards.

“We should probably go check on the others,” Daichi said, wrapping a rubber band around his deck of cards and setting it on his nightstand.  He stood up off the floor and stared down at Ushijima who was still sitting there.  “You coming?”

“I can’t get up.”

Oikawa cackled, doubling over.

“I’m a bit more sore than I anticipated.  I ran 5 miles instead of my usual 3.”

“He has a point,” Daichi laughed.

“I have  _ knee problems _ .”

“You can still exercise.”

“I play volleyball.”

“Do  _ other _ forms of exercise.”

“That’s enough,” Daichi cut the two off.  “Let’s check on Kuroo and Bo.”  The three stepped out of the room, nearly tip-toeing, as they walked into the main living space.  They relaxed when they walked into the main area and saw Kenma and Akaashi, on opposite ends of the couch, and Kuroo and Bokuto in the middle.  They were laying on each other and their boyfriends, snoring softly with their mouths hanging open.

“They fell asleep 5 minutes in,” Akaashi quietly told the three.  The cats were dancing on the screen and singing, and Oikawa sat himself on the floor in front of the couch.  Ushijima crouched down before laying on his stomach, and Daichi sat on the opposite side of Oikawa.  The group continued to watch the movie in silence, just watching the cats and taking a break from life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few things...
> 
> 1) we are sorry (for the one billionth time)
> 
> 2) we hope this is okay
> 
> 3) thanks for the love guys. your comments always make our days!
> 
> 4) our tumblrs are [ haikyuuliberos ](http://haikyuuliberos.tumblr.com) and [ trashcan-kitty ](http://trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com)
> 
> 5) this is the last thing I PROMISE but if you guys wanna check out [ this link ](http://trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com/tagged/captains-college-au) it has all of Kitty's AMAZING art of the OC's as well as some extra stuff from the AU!
> 
> thanks again guys, leave a comment/kudos if you enjoyed! :)


	14. New Year's Cleaning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dad told us we had to clean our room."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we haven't updated this since last year! haha... ha.... ha.
> 
> we apologize for the wait, thank you for your patience and support! we hope you enjoy this chapter, the next update shouldn't take nearly as long since it's basically just editing and minor things.
> 
> enjoy~

“Ha!  Oikawa gets the couch tonight!” Kuroo yelled, grabbing his pillow and bringing it to Bokuto and Oikawa’s - well, not Oikawa’s for the night - room.  Daichi shook his head with a light chuckle before looking back down at his phone.  Oikawa had to stay late with Ikeda because their coach had wanted to work on setter dumps in preparation for some of the upcoming matches, but Daichi was keeping a close eye on the time to make sure Oikawa wasn’t doing anything he shouldn’t.  Namely, overexerting himself.

“He is getting extra reps, though,” Ushijima said.  “I would have liked that.”

“Of course you would’ve, Ushiwaka,” Bokuto stuck his tongue out.

“We could all use extra reps?” Daichi added, trying to ease the tension.

Kuroo chucked his pillow into the room before turning around, “I guess, but I’m  _ beat _ .”

“I think we all are.”  Daichi breathed in deeply before stretching his slightly-sore legs, just as the front door opened.

“I’m back!” Oikawa sang.  “It was good, for everyone who-  _ shit _ !”  A loud thump followed the curse and Daichi cringed before twisting in his seat to look.  Oikawa was stumbling forward, his volleyball bag on the floor, and it didn’t take Daichi long to piece it together: the setter had tripped on something - a volleyball bag - that was in the middle of the hallway.

“Whose  _ shit  _ is this?!” Oikawa screeched.

“Swear jar, you potty mouth,” Bokuto shook his head.  “ _ Twice _ .”

“What are you, like, 4?” 

“Do accidents really count, though?” Kuroo asked.  “I mean, he was almost physically harmed, so-”

“Enough,” Daichi stopped the two before their conversation could continue.  “What did you trip on?”

“ _ That _ ,” Oikawa jabbed his finger at the bag in the middle of the floor.  Daichi got up and walked over, frowning slightly at the eagle design sewn on.

“Ushijima?”

“Is that my bag?” Ushijima walked over and kneeled down to examine it, before nodding his head in affirmation.  “Yes, it is.”

“I almost died!” Oikawa gasped.  “Because of  _ your  _ bag!  You did this on purpose!  Ushijima Wakatoshi is trying to-”

“Oikawa, I apologize.”

“- _ kill  _ me because I didn’t-”

“I assure you it was an accident.”

“You ‘accidentally’ happened to leave your bag in the middle of the floor?” Oikawa exasperated.

“Okay, let’s calm down,” Daichi intervened.  “Ushijima apologized, it happens.”

Kuroo tilted his head to the side, “May I ask how someone just…  _ leaves _ a bag in the middle of the floor?  He has a good point.”

“Thank you, Tetsu-chan.”

“Anytime.”

“I don’t see the problem,” Bokuto inserted himself into the conversation,  _ literally _ \- he squeezed himself between Oikawa, Daichi, and Ushijima so they were all forced to look right at him.  “Our apartment is already messy, so why’s it such a big deal?”

“Our apartment isn’t  _ that _ -” Daichi stopped talking as he surveyed the area.  Empty food packages, ranging from chips to instant ramen and even pizza boxes, as well as papers, text books, countless water/soda bottles, and much more litter lay scattered across the apartment.  Daichi pursed his lips as the rest of the guys came to the same realization as him - or so he thought.

“It could be worse,” Kuroo shrugged.

“Yeah, it’s not  _ that  _ bad,” Bokuto said.

“Ye-”

“It’s awful!” Oikawa interrupted.  “This bag of chips has been laying around for, like, 3 months!  And that pizza box should be long gone, and…” He continued rambling on, and despite how it was slightly obnoxious, he was right.  To prove his point, Oikawa kicked an empty two liter across the room, where it hit the window with a clang.

“Maybe you should’ve played soccer,” Bokuto muttered.

“Okay, okay,” Daichi raised his hands.  “Tomorrow is Saturday, and we just have morning practice, so once we get back we’re going to take some time out of our day and focus on cleaning this place up.”

“I don’t know if I remember what this place looks like clean,” Kuroo said.

Ushijima nodded his head in thought until Oikawa turned to him with a pout.

“Ushiwaka, you’re the one who started this,” Oikawa held his hand up.  “You have no right.”

“Oikawa, I apologize.  I’m very-”

“You almost-”

“ _ Enough _ !”

 

* * *

“Nice practice, guys,” Akiyama clapped his hands as they filed into the locker room.  “Hayashi-san really likes the intensity.”

“It’s fun when it’s more intense,” Ushijima said.

“Ushijima… did you just say ‘fun’?” Fukui grabbed Ushijima’s shoulder.

Oshiro laughed, “He’s right.”  The team continued to converse lightly until being interrupted.

“We should all do something!” Tachibana suggested, before frowning slightly.  “I don’t mean to be that ‘I-love-my-team-so-much-we-have-to-be-best-friends’ person, but it’s been a while since we all did something.  And I’m bored.”

“No, I agree,” Kita nodded his head.  “What do you guys think?”  After an assortment of agreements, Kita turned to Daichi.  “Are the ‘firsties’ in?”

“Yes!” Kuroo, Bokuto, and Oikawa cheered.

“Nope,” Daichi shook his head, before he realized how it sounded.  “No, we’d love to, sorry! It’s just… the apartment looks like a typhoon ripped through it .”

“That bad?” Akiyama chuckled.

“That bad.”

“It’s not  _ that  _ bad,” Bokuto pat Daichi’s head.  “We can go out for a bit!”   
“Nope.”

“It’s like they’re asking their parent,” Oshiro snickered.  Tachibana roared with laughter, and soon the rest of the upperclassmen joined in.

“So it’s a no, then?” Ikeda managed to say.

“Unfortunately,” Daichi sighed.  “We’ll see you guys at practice tomorrow.”

“Alright,” Akiyama grinned as the first years departed from the athletic center with Bokuto, Kuroo, and Oikawa glaring daggers at Daichi.

“Awww, come on!”

“But  _ Dai-chan _ !”

“That’s not fair!”

“I’m not budging,” Daichi stated.  “The place is a mess and needs to be addressed.  We can get evicted if it’s not in good shape.”

“Oh, right,” Bokuto’s eyes widened.  “That’s not good!”

“Touché,” Kuroo added.

“Precisely,” Daichi replied.  “That’s why we need to go  _ clean _ .  Speaking of which, do we have a vacuum cleaner?”

“Good question…” Oikawa frowned slightly.   
“I don’t think so,” Ushijima shook his head.  “We have a broom and dust pan, but no vacuum.”

“Thanks,” Daichi pat Ushijima’s shoulder, and the lefty looked pleased.  “Well, I’m going to run to the store and buy one, because god knows we’ll probably need it.  Can I trust you guys to head back to the apartment and start cleaning up?”

“What does that mean, exactly?” Kuroo leaned forward.  “Like, give us an example of what you would want us to do.”

“Well, you could start by picking up all the piles of crap in the main area, and then go to your rooms and sort out your dirty clothes and clean clothes, take all your garbage out from your rooms-”

“That’s enough,” Bokuto placed his hand over Daichi’s mouth, and the latter narrowed his eyes.  “We’ll be right on it!”

“Count on us!” Oikawa nodded his head.  He and Kuroo traded a glance - that Daichi missed - and gave a thumbs up.

Daichi shook his head, “If you don’t have the place _nearly_ _spotless -_ “

“Don’t worry about it!” Bokuto assured.

“I will make sure they help clean,” Ushijima added.

“Great,” Daichi said.  “I’ll be back there in a bit.”  Daichi split off from the group, walking through the campus towards the usual store the guys visited for their groceries.  It was farther from the athletic center than it was from their apartment, but the air wasn’t as cold as it had been in the past few weeks.  Spring was right around the corner, and Daichi wasn’t even wearing a jacket - granted, he was still a little warm from practice.

Entering the store, he wandered the aisles until he found a section with a display of vacuums.  He was a bit overwhelmed at first, gazing at the various, high-tech machines.  Daichi didn’t want something extraordinary (because, well, they  _ were _ pretty broke already), and the fact that he probably wouldn’t be able to figure it out.  He managed to find one that didn’t break his bank account, and it had directions on how to use it, so he tucked the box under his arm and walked towards the front of the store.  For some reason, a head of black curls caught his eye and Daichi tilted his head in thought.   _ He looks familiar… why? _

“Moniwa?” Daichi called.  The person whipped around with wide eyes before breaking into a smile and walking over.

“Sawamura!” Moniwa offered his hand and Daichi shook it enthusiastically, before they settled with a hug and a laugh.  “Long time no see!”

“Yeah, it’s been… since we saw Dateko at the scrimmage last year,” Daichi rubbed the back of his neck.  “I didn’t know you were here!”

“Yeah, I’m in the literature program, which is on the other side of campus,” Moniwa explained.  “So I don’t usually come over here, but I needed - well,  _ wanted  _ \- some mochi ice cream and they have the best here.”

“Ah,” Daichi chuckled. 

“I found it, fortunately,” Moniwa laughed, holding up the box of ice cream.  “So, I hear you’re on the volleyball team?”

“Yeah!”

“And one of two liberos, huh?” the former setter raised his eyebrows.  “That’s quite the switch from a wing spiker.”

“You know, I keep thinking that myself,” Daichi grinned.  “But it’s working out, so I might just stick with it.”

“I’m sure you’re doing great!  I’ll have to come to a few matches.”  Moniwa and Daichi chatted for a while longer, losing track of time as they wandered around the store (Daichi had to move the box a few times because his arm was becoming sore from holding it), and the subject moved back towards volleyball.

“I joined a rec league,” Moniwa explained.  “I just couldn’t give up the sport completely, plus it’s a decent way to stay in shape.”

Daichi nodded his head in agreement, “Definitely.”

“And I’m still keeping up with things, at least a little bit,” Moniwa chuckled and waved the magazine in his hand.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yup,” Moniwa thumbed through the pages and stopped at a particular one.  “Oh, yeah, this is one of the big name players from the college league.”

“Who?” Daichi leaned in as Moniwa turned the magazine towards him.  The player was setting in the picture, his focus completely on the ball.  “Oh, I think that’s TIU’s setter.  I don’t know him personally but I’ve heard of him before.”

“I guess he’s pretty good if he’s getting featured in  _ Volleyball Weekly _ ,” Moniwa commented.

“Yeah,” Daichi said.  “By the way, let’s get coffee sometime soon!  I’m sure Ushijima and Oikawa would like to tag along, too.”

“Really?” Moniwa brightened.  “I honestly wanted to reach out to you guys, but I was a little scared.”

“Scared?  Of us?” Daichi paused, thinking about Oikawa’s reputation and Ushijima’s stoic appearance.  “Well… I kind of see your point.”  The two chuckled before they said goodbye, and Daichi briskly walked back to the apartment.  Hopefully the guys had cleaned up the place, and maybe gotten some extra done since he was gone for longer.

Of course, that was exactly what  _ didn’t  _ happen.

 

* * *

 

“This is  _ stupid _ ,” Bokuto groaned as they piled back into the apartment.  Oikawa rolled his eyes and sighed.   _ I’ll take one for the team. _

“Okay, but imagine how mad Dai-chan will be if he comes back and we got  _ nothing  _ done,” Oikawa reminded, setting his bag on the sofa.

“That’s true,” Kuroo nodded his head.

“Why don’t we try to clean up?” Ushijima suggested.  “It will be good for us to clean our living space.”

“Ushiwaka-chan, so smart!” Oikawa pat Ushijima’s head, leaving him slightly confused, before walking over towards the couch and TV.  “Tetsu-chan and I can start with the living area, and you guys can go start cleaning the bedrooms.”  Bokuto let out a groan while Ushijima headed towards the bedroom, and Kuroo turned his head towards Oikawa.

“Taking charge, huh?”

“Dai-chan is usually the one bossing us around, so someone’s gotta fill in his shoes.”

“True.”

The two started with trash, which was easy enough.  Bottles lay everywhere, along with old note sheets (that they tried to organize based on hand-writing), pencils, chopsticks… it  _ was  _ a disaster.  They had only spent about 5 minutes working on it when Bokuto burst through his room, waving a box around maniacally.

“Guys!  Look what I found!” Bokuto slammed the box on the coffee table, causing Oikawa to lean away due to the sheer volume of the slam.

“What is it?” Kuroo peered over the couch before gasping and leaping over it to grab the box.  “ _ Operation _ ?!  I haven’t played this since I was a kid!”

“ _ Operation _ ?” Oikawa furrowed his eyebrows.

Bokuto enthusiastically waved his hands around, “Y’know, that game everyone played as a kid!”

“The one where you had to try to get the body parts out without making the thing buzz?” Kuroo furthered.

“Oh, I played that, like, once,” Oikawa plopped down next to Kuroo.

“Hey, Ushiwaka, come out!” Bokuto yelled, nearly bursting Oikawa’s eardrum.  He couldn’t imagine Kuroo’s pain, as he was sitting directly next to Bokuto.  After a few moments, the door opened, and Ushijima came lumbering out of his room before sitting down next to Oikawa.

“What is this?” he asked.

“ _ Operation _ !” Bokuto exclaimed.  “Watch us!”

“Does it even have batteries?” Kuroo lifted the game out of the box.

“Hopefully.”  To the group’s delight, the game did in fact have batteries, and it turned on right away.  “Okay, now we have to put the body parts in.”

“I think this goes here!” Bokuto dropped the wishbone in the “adam’s apple” spot.

“Why would you think that?” Oikawa snatched the piece out of the spot.  “Here, let me do it.”  He quickly dropped each piece in its proper spot before brushing his hands off with a grin.  “Let the master perform.”

He grabbed the tweezers and began working diligently, getting each piece out, and setting it aside.  Kuroo and Bokuto cheered him on while Ushijima observed quietly, and Oikawa dipped his tweezers in to get the “broken heart” when the game buzzed, scaring him.  With a yelp, Oikawa flung the tweezers away from himself as Kuroo and Bokuto began roaring with laughter.

“Fail!” Bokuto chuckled.

“It’s harder than it looks!” Oikawa argued.

“May I try?” Ushijima asked.

Kuroo began putting the pieces back in place.  “Go for it.”

The lefty picked up the tweezers, which appeared even smaller in his large hand, and leaned towards the board.  He lowered the tweezers towards “writer’s cramp” before the game buzzed loudly.  Ushijima wasn’t startled like Oikawa, instead placing the tweezers down with a slight frown, before leaning back and eyeing the board.

“I’m better than Ushiwaka-chan!” Oikawa announced, spreading his arms wide.

“I will keep practicing,” Ushijima nodded his head slowly.  “Everyone has different strengths.”

“Are you not upset?!”

“Not really…”

“How?!”

“Let me take a stab at this,” Kuroo interrupted, before smirking.  “Literally.”

“Don’t hurt the poor patient!” Bokuto howled.

“Give me the tweezers!” Kuroo thrust his hand to the side, and Bokuto promptly placed the tweezers in his hand.  Kuroo set to work, delicately removing each plastic part and dropping them on the table.  His tongue was sticking out in concentration, with narrow eyes, and Oikawa could swear he saw a bead of sweat running down his temple.  Bokuto was cheering him on, and the two of them crawled around the table to get the best angle.  Kuroo was down to one piece, the charlie horse, and was removing it when the game buzzed loudly.  

“No!” Kuroo groaned, slamming onto the table before falling to the floor.  Bokuto rushed around him, before shaking his friend and turning to the game.

“We can still save him!  It’s not over!”

“It’s over,” Kuroo dramatically raised his fist in the air, before letting his arm drape across his body.  “We lost him.”

“NO!”

“Kuroo,” Ushijima said.  “There’s nothing to worry about, it’s just a game.”

“ _ Life  _ is just a game!”

“Aw, Tetsu-chan,” Oikawa pat Kuroo’s leg sympathetically.  “I’ll avenge you.”

“How brave!” Kuroo cried.  Oikawa grabbed the tweezers and was about to set to work when they heard the door handle.  The four of them looked at each other with varying amounts of shock (and fear) on their expressions, before turning to the door.  It was like slow-motion for Oikawa: watching the door knob turn, the door opening slowly and Daichi walking in, his face morphing from a light grin to pure rage.

“ _ Fuck _ .”

 

* * *

 

Daichi wasn’t surprised.  He knew deep down, despite his hopes for the other  _ 18/19 year old men  _ he roomed with, that they would probably not get anything done.  For all it was worth, it looked like they at least  _ tried,  _ a little bit, but it was nowhere near clean.

“It was an accident!” Bokuto yelped.

“It was an accident -” Daichi put the vacuum down gently before continuing.  “- That you managed to pick up half a water bottle and a few pieces of trash?”

“Yes,” Kuroo nodded his head.

“You do realize we all have homework to do, on top of this, right?”

“We can… do it… later,” Oikawa supplied.

“That’s not the point,” Daichi snapped.  The guys all jumped and Daichi took a deep breath to calm himself.  “Start cleaning up again,  _ right now _ , and I’m going to get settled in and figure out how to use this thing.”  He gestured to the vacuum cleaner under his arm and hauled his belongings to his room.  His room, shared with Ushijima, actually wasn’t as much of a disaster as it was before: while there were still clothes strewn everywhere, more of the trash was gone.

Placing his bags down, Daichi set the box on the floor and began unpacking the vacuum.  It actually wasn’t all that difficult, just a few things to snap on, but he read the directions to make sure he didn’t mess anything up.  A whoop startled Daichi and, upon listening more closely, he could tell the rest of his roommates were definitely not cleaning up.  Daichi face-palmed and grabbed his phone. Time to call the only person who might be able to save the last bit of his sanity.

“ _ Hello? _ ”

“Hey, Yaku,” Daichi sat on his bed and leaned backwards.  The comforter enveloped him, and Daichi’s eyes fluttered shut - he could just lay there forever, maybe take a quick nap...

“ _ What’s up? _ ” Yaku interrupted Daichi’s moment of serenity, and the latter blinked to keep himself awake.

“I thought I’d ask for your advice,” Daichi began.  “Because our apartment is a pit, but they won’t listen to me when I tell them to clean up.”

“ _ Did you yell at them? _ ”

“Kind of?”

“ _ Did they listen? _ ”

“No.”

He heard Yaku clear his throat on the other end, “Put me on speaker.”

“O-okay.”  Daichi did as he said and put the phone on speaker as he walked into the main area.  The guys all whipped their heads around to look at Daichi, who held his phone away from his body.  “Yaku’s on speaker.”

Kuroo yelled,“Yakkun!”

“ _ YOU ALL BETTER LISTEN UP _ -” Yaku shouted through the phone.  Daichi nearly dropped his phone on the floor from the loudness of the libero’s voice, and the guys all scrambled to clean up their board game.  “ _ IT IS SO DISRESPECTFUL THAT YOU WON’T LISTEN TO DAICHI WHEN HE JUST WANTS YOU TO CLEAN UP, YOU HEAR ME?!  YOU ALL ARE LAZY SHITS JUST WAITING FOR ME TO COME OVER THERE AND BEAT YOUR ASSES BECAUSE YOU WON’T PICK UP YOUR GODDAMN APARTMENT!”   _ Daichi had never seen Kuroo move so quickly as he raced around (nearly falling flat on his face as he raced into the kitchenette), picking up garbage and random things that were scattered around.

“ _ YOUR VOLLEYBALL SKILLS MAKE UP FOR YOUR MATURITY, BECAUSE ALL OF YOU ARE ACTING LIKE FOUR YEAR OLDS JUST SITTING ON YOUR ASSES, FUCKING AROUND, WHILE DAICHI HERE IS TRYING TO KEEP EVERYONE UNDER CONTROL!  KUROO, DON’T GET ME FUCKING  _ STARTED  _ ON WHAT I’LL DO IF I SHOW UP, BECAUSE-” _

_ “ _ I know, Yaku!” Kuroo interrupted.

“ _ Good!”  _ Yaku replied.  “ _ Bokuto, I will come and knock your knees out, you hear me?!” _

“I hear you loud and clear!” Bokuto cried, grabbing a few notebooks.

“ _ Ushijima, are you there?! _ ”

“Yes,” Ushijima looked up from bending over.

“ _ Clean up!”  _

“Okay.”

“ _ And Oikawa! _ ” Yaku’s voice rang throughout the room.

“Don’t you worry about me, Yaku-chan!” Oikawa sang.  “I’m cleaning up right now!”

“ _ You better be! I have no problem making another phone call. _ ” Daichi turned the phone off  speaker and brought it back up to his ear as Yaku lowered his voice.  “ _ Sorry about that.  Once things get cleaned up, will you apologize to them for me?  Just tell them they need to not be so distracted all the time. _ ”

“I’ll do that,” Daichi laughed.

He heard Yaku huff, “ _ Good.  By the way, sometime we should all hang out. Iwaizumi was talking to me about that the other day, and I thought it would be fun.” _

“Yeah, that’s a good idea!” Daichi agreed.   “By the way, when is your guys’ first game?”

_ “Uh… next Tuesday, what about you guys?” _

“We play Hosei next Friday.”

“ _ Damn, you have to play  _ them  _ first _ ?” Yaku asked.

“I think we’ll be fine,” Daichi chuckled.  “We’re a strong team.”

“ _ I’m sure you are.  Can’t wait to play you guys, either… that’ll be interesting _ .”  He heard Yaku shift on the other end.  “ _ I’m glad I got to put those guys in their place, that was a good stress reliever!  I’ll talk to you later, and if they give you any more trouble, just call me again, and I’ll be sure to drive myself there to personally beat them.” _

“Th-thank you,” Daichi stuttered. The two hung up momentarily and Daichi grabbed the vacuum cleaner, turned it on, and began pushing it around their apartment.  The crunches of food being sucked up made him cringe, but he kept going.  It was quiet, besides the drone of the vacuum, as the guys all worked diligently to clean up.  Daichi was actually surprised that they were focusing so well on their tasks: he watched as Bokuto walked out of the room with a basketful of dirty clothes, leaving the room to take them to the community laundry room, while Oikawa sorted through the mess of papers and books.  Daichi smiled to himself.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, Daichi contently gazed upon the apartment.  It was cleaner than he had ever seen it, with the floors practically sparkling and no trash in sight.  Oikawa had also ‘febreezed’ the entire complex, so it smelled fresh.  Daichi was folding all the clothes (since Bokuto had shamefully admitted he didn’t know how and gave Daichi the box of clean-yet-disorganized clothes) as his brain churned, thinking about the upcoming week of classes and volleyball.  Humming to himself, he folded one of Kuroo’s shirts and set it aside when he felt arms wrap around his torso and a head lean on his shoulder.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry,” Oikawa’s voice whispered.

“Uh-huh.”

“Dai-chan, don’t be mad at me!” Oikawa whined, his arms tightening around Daichi.

With a sigh, Daichi put down the shorts in his hand and pat Oikawa’s arm.  “I’m not mad.  I just feel like I’m always doing the work around here.”

“We’re  _ all  _ sorry about that,” the setter replied.  “We know we’re messy, and we take your cleaning-up for granted.”

“Are you trying to get something out of this?”

“...no.”

“ _ Sure _ .”

“Hug-fest?” Bokuto grinned, running over and nearly leaping on top of Oikawa and Daichi.  “I love you guys!”   
“Love you too, Kou-chan,” Oikawa’s muffled voice sounded from Bokuto’s pectoral, which was shoved in his face.

“Don’t leave me out!” Kuroo joined them all, and Daichi felt like he was being spooned by 4 people, which he kind of was.

“Ushiwaka!” Bokuto yelled.  “Get over here!”   
“Why?” Ushijima questioned.

“We’re hugging!”

“Do you want me to hug you?”

“Yes!” Kuroo exclaimed.  A few seconds later, another pair of arms wrapped around Daichi, much tighter than the rest.  He sputtered slightly as he tried to breathe and could feel the beads of sweat starting to form.

“Guys,” Daichi choked.  “I’m dying.”

“Oh.  Sorry.”  They all let go of each other and stood in a circle as Daichi stared up at them.  Kuroo promptly ruffled Daichi’s hair, and Daichi counterattacked with shoving his hand in Kuroo’s hair and making it more disastrous than before.  “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Daichi said, stroking his hair back into place as best he could.  “You guys have to clean up more, alright?  We shouldn’t have to spend hours a day cleaning up.”

“Okay,” Bokuto pumped his fist in the air, his contagious grin slapped on his face.

“We will keep the area more clean,” Ushijima promised.

“Yup!” Oikawa beamed.  “Now, I forgot it was my night to make dinner, so… how does takeout sound?”

“Fine.”

“Perfect!”

“Good.”

Daichi chuckled, “Fantastic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah, chores.
> 
> also has someone noticed our mystery character yet?? we think it's getting more and more obvious (-we are trying because we love him-) and if you have an idea of who it is, let us know below!!
> 
> ***
> 
> we really appreciate comments, they brighten our days! ;)
> 
> tumblrs: @haikyuuliberos & @trashcan-kitty
> 
> also check out the blog @evilauthorsclub , a blog we have with some friends where we write!


	15. The Lock-In™

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Truth or dare?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow... 2 months. we apologize greatly. honestly there is no excuse and we honestly feel really bad about it. we are definitely going to get an actual schedule in place so it'll hopefully be a month TOPS before the next chapter.  
> this one had a TON of reworking to go through and so it took much longer than we anticipated.  
> basically, this is just super self-indulgent OC time, so we hope you guys enjoy reading about the boys' interactions with our OC's. they're literally our children, and we love them dearly :')
> 
> if you want to see them (and the rough's of the unfinished OC's), you can check them out [here](http://trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com/tagged/college-au)!!

“15 more minutes of practice,” Tachibana rubbed his hands together as he grinned at everyone.  “And then we’re up for the whole night!”

“As if you don’t already do that,” Minami remarked, taking a drink of his water as the team laughed.

“How often do you pull all-nighters?” Kuroo asked.

“Like, once every-”

“At _least_ 2 times a week,” Minami interrupted.  “And he’ll be doing the weirdest stuff!  I once woke up at 3 in the morning and he was making pancakes.  Who does that?”

“Him, apparently,” Fukui jabbed a thumb towards Tachibana.  Daichi laughed to himself as they walked back onto the court, waiting for Coach Hayashi’s directions.  He ended up splitting them into two teams and told them how the scrimmage drill was going to work before letting them loose to play.  Daichi was on the same team as Ikeda, Kuroo, Minami, Bokuto, and Oshiro.  Oikawa snatched a ball off the floor and jogged back to serve before making eye contact with Daichi; Daichi was _positive_ that Oikawa would be picking on him again.  The setter had an infatuation with trying to score points against Daichi - which, while frustrating, _was_ making Daichi a better player.

Oikawa threw the ball in the air and slammed his palm into it as it flew towards Daichi, who stuck his arms out.  With a grunt, Daichi managed to pass the ball near Ikeda, who set Bokuto.  Bokuto used a feint to score the point, pissing Tachibana off as he let out a yell as he missed the ball.

“Nice receive!” Ikeda praised.

“Damn you, Dai-chan,” Oikawa seethed from across the net.  Daichi shrugged with a laugh before throwing the ball to Minami to serve, and he watched the players across the net to try to guess who Oikawa would toss to.  Tachibana would be an option, but Akiyama could spike from the back row, and there was Ushijima and Fukui.   _Tough._

Minami served the ball, to which Kita passed easily, and Oikawa jumped up to set.  Daichi braced himself as he watched the ball softly leave his hands, right to Fukui, and Daichi threw his hands to cover his face in case Fukui decided to spike it towards him.  Before he could register anything, Daichi watched as Kuroo’s hands blocked the ball, sending it to the floor.

“KUROO!” the team cheered.  Fukui was swearing while Kuroo laughed, getting high fives (and an ass-slap from Bokuto) from their side of the net.

“You guys are really pissing me off,” Oikawa snorted, turning away from them.  Daichi, Bokuto, and Kuroo all looked at one another before grinning and returning to their spots.  Minami served, and Akiyama received the ball.  Oikawa turned his body towards Ushijima, ready to set him, but quickly flicked his wrists so the ball flew over the net.  It landed right on the attack line, a few feet from Ikeda, and the setter dove to try to recover the ball to no avail.

“Don’t mind,” Daichi offered his hand to Ikeda, helping him up.

Oshiro nodded his head, “That was tricky.”  They were about to start another rally when Coach Hayashi told them to shag the balls and cool off - even though their ‘cool off’ was three laps around the gym.  The sweaty players ran their laps with only the sound of their breathing and the sounds of their steps filling the space.

“Good job today,” Hayashi said.  “Tomorrow is a defense day, so make sure you get _some_ rest tonight.  Akiyama, I’m leaving the keys with you.  Have a goodnight, _make good choices_.”  Coach Hayashi nodded his head as they all bowed slightly, thanking him, and watched the door shut behind him.

Fukui broke the silence, “Now what?”

“We should shower,” Ushijima said.

“True that, Ushijima,” Kita agreed.  The group all made their way towards the locker room, squeezing through the door as they conversed.  Daichi grabbed a towel before walking to the shower stalls, rinsing his body off under the cool, yet refreshing, stream.  He was about to step out when multiple yelps echoed through the locker room, and he peeked his head out in time to watch Tachibana and Bokuto using their towels to slap each other.  Nude.

“What are we, 9?” Ikeda asked.

“I’m actually 12!” Tachibana shouted, screeching as Bokuto’s towel slapped his back.

“Perfect,” Akiyama shook his head as Daichi walked by, gently pushing Bokuto towards the showers.  Daichi quickly changed before finding a seat in the main section of the locker room, scrolling through his phone as his teammates finished showering.  Minami had just called in their food order, since his parents owned a restaurant nearby, and they were all hanging out.  Personal space was nonexistent between them all, with Kita laying on top of Fukui and Ikeda, and Kuroo, Bokuto, Oikawa, and Tachibana all tangled up in some way.  Daichi was leaned up against Minami, and Oshiro’s head was resting on Minami’s thigh.

“We should do something,” Oshiro declared.

“Mhm,” Oikawa hummed his agreement.

“Truth or dare?” Ikeda laughed.

“That could go wrong in so many ways,” Akiyama snorted.

“Never have I ever!” Tachibana sat up, raising his fist and nearly punching Kuroo in the face.  “Always a good way to find out how innocent your team is!”  The group began laughing but reorganized themselves so they were somewhat in a circle.

“I think Dai-chan’s going to win,” Oikawa snickered, playfully shoving Daichi’s shoulder.

“Is that a challenge?” Daichi raised his eyebrows.

“A purity competition?” Tachibana rubbed his hands together.

“Tachibana, you’re going to lose,” Minami deadpanned, much to the amusement of the team.

“I’ll start,” Akiyama cleared his throat.  “Never have I ever eaten pizza.”  An assortment of gasps filled the locker room as _everyone_ put a finger down, grumbling to themselves.  Akiyama just sat there laughing.  “Always a classic.”

“Okay,” Kita clapped.  “Never have I ever… cheated on a test.”  Daichi scanned the room as Bokuto, Tachibana, Fukui, and Oshiro put their fingers down.

Oshiro took a deep breath, “Never have I ever snuck out.”

“You’ve never snuck out?” Oikawa asked.

“I couldn’t fit through the windows of my house.”  The group laughed obnoxiously at Oshiro’s misfortunes as Daichi lowered a finger.  It wasn’t something he did _often_ but, well, he _had_ done it before...

“Never have I ever gotten high,” Minami chuckled.  Daichi watched Bokuto, Kuroo, Tachibana, Oikawa, and Fukui all put fingers down.  A sputtering noise escaped Daichi’s lips as he gestured towards his roommates, shaking his head incredulously.

“Guys!” he exasperated.

“It was just once!” Oikawa defended, Kuroo adding the same exact thing.

“Sorry!” Bokuto cackled, tipping backwards onto Kuroo.  The team was laughing as Daichi stared, wide-eyed and and jaw-dropped, at his roommates.

“Sawamura, it’s your turn,” Minami gently nudged him.

“Oh,” Daichi pursed his lips.  He hadn’t thought of something to say yet, and being put on the spot… “Never have I ever flirted my way out of a ticket.”  Bokuto had just told him the story a few days ago, and Daichi smirked at Bokuto’s expression.

“It was _once_ ,” Bokuto argued, lowering a finger.  “ _Once_!”

“Me too, dude!” Tachibana high-fived Bokuto.  “It didn’t work.”

“Me neither.”

“Ushijima?” the group turned expectantly to the lefty.

“Never have I ever picked a flower.”

“Picked a flower?!” Fukui squawked.

“I didn’t want to hurt the flower, so I never have picked one,” Ushijima explained.

“So pure,” Kuroo wiped a fake tear.  “Petition to forever protect Ushijima.”

“Agreed,” Oshiro added.

Oikawa beamed, “My turn!  Never have I ever gone to Shiratorizawa!”  Ushijima and Akiyama each put a finger down as everyone else laughed.

“You didn’t?” Akiyama raised an eyebrow.  “Oh, you-”

“Should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa?” Oikawa sighed.

“No, I was going to say you would’ve done well there,” Akiyama shrugged.

“That’s what I thought,” Ushijima said.  Daichi was preparing to stop an argument when Ushijima surprised them all, “But he did a good job leading Aoba Jousai.”

“Ushiwaka,” Oikawa placed a hand over his heart.  “I’m touched.”

“Okay, this is too sappy,” Bokuto stuck his tongue out.  “Never have I ever… shoplifted!”  Nobody put a finger down, much to Bokuto’s disappointment, and they moved onto Kuroo.

“Never have I ever gotten a tattoo!” Kuroo grinned, watching as Minami and Tachibana lowered their fingers.

“I still regret it,” Minami tsked.  “It was just one bad night-”

“I love my tattoo!” Tachibana laughed.  “Oh, shit, it’s my turn.  Hmm… never have I ever… uh…”

“Oh, god,” Akiyama facepalmed.

“Never have I ever eaten anchovies!  Ick.”

“You’ve had to at least tried them?” Oshiro lowered a finger.

Tachibana shook his head, “I couldn’t get over the look of it.  Just… ugh!  Fukui, you go!  I don’t want to talk about anchovies anymore.”

“Okay,” Fukui leaned against a locker and hummed in thought.  “Never… have I ever… unironically been called ‘daddy.’”  The group began howling with laughter that echoed throughout the locker room, and Kuroo even hit his hand too-hard against the floor.

“Nobody?” Oikawa snorted, glancing around, until he turned to Daichi.  “Don’t even lie.”

“I’m… not,” Daichi tentatively raised his hands, watching Oikawa’s eyes widen - counting Daichi's fingers and _realizing he had lowered one_ \- before he started crying from laughter; Daichi's face heated up faster than he could ever recall.

"Tell Sugawara Koushi I fucking love him!" Oikawa roared, and the rest of the team realized what had just happened and joined in with Oikawa's rambunctious laughter.

After another round of laughs later (Oikawa was _still_ crying), they continued on with the game.  Tachibana was out after a few more ‘never have I ever’s,’ followed by Fukui (who was not nearly as ‘pure’ as Daichi thought), Bokuto, Oikawa, Minami, himself, Kuroo, Akiyama, Oshiro, Kita, Ikeda, and lastly, Ushijima.  Conveniently, as they wrapped up the game, Minami’s mom stopped by with the food and they all helped him bring it in and dish it out.

Daichi hadn’t tasted something so incredible for a long time.  While Ushijima’s cooking was something they all looked forward to every week, this food was _gourmet_ .  Endless boxes of chicken, rice, beef, and vegetables galore covered the locker room, and the only sounds were of multiple young men stuffing their faces with as much food as possible.  It was _glorious_.

27 boxes and many full stomachs later, Daichi found himself laying on the floor next to Akiyama.

“I’m…” Bokuto trailed off.  “Going to explode.”

“Me too,” Oshiro groaned.  After a few more minutes of pained moans and relaxation, Tachibana rolled over and checked the time on his phone.

“10:27?!” he screeched.  “Where has the time gone?!”

“We still have 10 hours,” Fukui grinned toothily.  “A _lot_ can happen in 10 hours.”

“That…” Daichi trailed off.  “That sounds either terrifying or very sexual.”  The team laughed loudly, a few of them nudging Fukui, who simply giggled to himself.

“I’m not the one who is called ‘Daddy,’” Fukui snorted, earning a chorus of ‘Ooh’s and ‘Roasted!’s.  Daichi buried his head in his hands, willing the red to go away, as Bokuto kicked Daichi by accident from laughing so hard.

“What is the point of calling someone ‘Daddy’ who is not your father?” Ushijima asked.  Daichi nearly smacked Oikawa to keep him from laughing at poor, clueless Ushijima, but Tachibana’s hysterical screech interrupted them all.

“Ushijima,” Kuroo pat the lefty’s arm.  “Never change.  Please… never change.”

“...Alright,” Ushijima narrowed his eyes.

“Have I told you guys the story about the time Ikeda got hit in the head with a volleyball?” Kita snickered, earning a light slap on the arm from Ikeda, but he only began howling with laughter.

“10 out of 10 for the subject change,” Oshiro approved.

“Kita, _no_ ,” Ikeda tried to cover the libero’s mouth, but he wriggled out of Ikeda’s grip, still laughing.

“Okay, okay, let’s settle down,” Akiyama sighed.  Daichi chuckled to himself, watching Tachibana and Minami banter about something while Ikeda ran around chasing Kita; and of course, Bokuto was elaborately gesturing to Ushijima, who looked more confused than ever, and Oikawa and Kuroo were looking at something on Oikawa’s phone.  While they weren’t Karasuno, they were still definitely crazy.

“How about a good ol’ fashioned game of hide and seek?” Oikawa interrupted the group after a few minutes.

Someone - Daichi didn’t know - yelled, “Nose-goes!”  Daichi nearly smacked himself in the face trying to tap his nose, and he scanned the room in bewilderment as he watched the others do the same.

“What?” Fukui rolled over from his spot on the floor.

“Fukui, you’re seeking!”

“Seeking what?”

“Hide-and-go-seek,” Ushijima elaborated.

“ _Oh_ ,” Fukui shifted into a sitting position.  “How long am I counting for?”

“Hmm…” Oikawa hummed.  “One minute and 13 seconds.”

Fukui cleared his throat, “ _One-_ ”

Daichi had never seen so many grown men scramble faster in his entire life.  Oshiro nearly plowed him over, to which he promptly apologized, as they all raced out of the locker room, fanning out once they got to the main hallway of the facility.  The way the building was set up was the downstairs gymnasium, an upstairs weight-room, the locker room, and countless offices and rooms throughout the rest of the building.  In all honestly it was _killer_ for hide and seek, especially since most of the lights were off and there was no outside light coming in.

Daichi slowed to a jog before peeking into the athletic trainer’s room, and seeing nobody in there, slipped inside and hid behind a chair in the back.  It was in between two tables, so he was hidden relatively well.

A noise startled Daichi, who accidentally kicked the table and caused a roll of athletic tape to fall onto the floor with an excruciatingly loud thump (at least compared to the silence of the room).

“What the _fuck_?!” a voice whispered in alarm.

“Kuroo?”

“Daichi?”

“You scared me!”

“Dude, you scared _me_.  Fucking-” Kuroo crouched down between 2 tables across from Daichi, barely visible in the darkness.  “-shit.  I thought there was a ghost or something.”

“Get out of my hiding spot!” Daichi bickered.

“I’m not in _your_ hiding spot, Sa-wa-mu-ra, I’m _near_ your hiding spot.”

“Kuroo, you bastard.”  Kuroo giggled in response before they fell into tense silence, trying to listen for any sign of Fukui or another person.  A few minutes went by before Daichi broke the silence.

“You know, this place is pretty big.  We could potentially be here for a while,” he commented.

“What if we’re here for hours?” Kuroo seemed to ask it genuinely, but a laugh trailed at the end of his words, and Daichi found himself snorting into his hand while trying to be quiet (and ultimately failing)

“Days… months…”

“ _Years_ …”

If someone were to walk by the training room at that moment, it would either be extremely awkward or extremely terrifying, Daichi thought, as the two of them choked back laughter to try to keep their hiding spot secret.  Daichi gasped for a breath when Kuroo slammed his back against the wall, eerily quiet.

“Someone’s coming,” he whispered.

“What? No-”

“Yes,” Kuroo hissed.  They both shut up and held their breath, but Daichi watched Kuroo crawl out of his hiding spot, heading towards the door, as audible talking came into range.  At first, Daichi couldn’t make out whose voices’ they belonged to, but then he realized it was Fukui, Ushijima, Tachibana, and Bokuto.

“Kuroo-”

“ _Shh_.”  The voices got louder as they approached, and Daichi sucked a breath in when he heard the creak of the door opening, more light filtering into the room.

“Alright, you bitches,” Tachibana declared.  “Where are you?”  Daichi, out of the corner of his eye, watched Kuroo sneak behind the door and stand up as the four seekers walked into the room to investigate.   _Oh, heavens-_

Two screams - bloodcurdling screams - filled the room, and Daichi nearly leapt in surprise as he watched Kuroo attack the group.  Tachibana and Bokuto screamed, falling onto the floor in front of Fukui, who tripped on them and fell as well, while Ushijima backed away, startled.  Kuroo then started cackling so hard he couldn’t breathe, and Daichi watched him double over in a coughing fit.

“You son of a bitch!” Tachibana complained.  “I almost had a heart attack, and then the team would’ve been down a player-”

“Me too!” Bokuto interjected.

“Calm down,” Kuroo snickered.  “Just some good ol’ fun.”

“I almost broke my legs,” Fukui stood up slowly, brushing himself off.  “My twig legs.”

“Is there anyone else in here?” Ushijima asked.

“Nope,” Kuroo replied briskly, and the group began walking out of the room.  Daichi flipped Kuroo off, who looked back to slyly grin at Daichi, and the group left, closing the door behind them.  Daichi sat in complete darkness for a whole minute before he decided to leave, creeping towards the door and opening it.  Peeking his head out, he saw nobody in either direction and walked down the hallway, making turns wherever and just wandering around the building.  Since it was the largest athletic center on campus, he ended up wandering towards the baseball batting cages, found the yoga room, and even almost walked into the girl’s locker room by accident.

He continued strolling throughout the building when someone turned around the corner, startling him slightly, until he realized it was Oikawa.

“I thought you might be the seekers,” Daichi admitted with a laugh.

“Nope!” Oikawa replied with a grin.  “I haven’t even hid this whole time, actually.”

“I was hiding with Kuroo, but he scared them and left me to fend for myself.”

“Classic.”  The two walked the hallways together, occasionally bumping shoulders.  “You know what’s weird?”

“Hm?”

“Just thinking about last year,” Oikawa said.  “Me, you, and the rest of our roommates were all at our separate schools, preparing for the tournament and for nationals.  I never would have thought in my entire _life_ that I would have been on the same team as you guys, let alone living with you guys.”  Oikawa paused to laugh before continuing.  “I was just thinking about it earlier.”

“Yeah,” Daichi agreed.  “It’s kind of… nostalgic, honestly.  Seeing the team all messing around and stuff.  On the court we’re so different from our old schools that I don’t really think about Karasuno, but seeing everyone off the court…”

“I thought about that, too,” Oikawa confessed.  “I miss Seijou, but this isn’t bad.  It’s just… different.”

“Hey, we have a lot to look forward to,” Daichi nudged him.  “We still have our entire college career ahead of us, and I’m sure some of us will go pro.”

“True,” Oikawa murmured.  “Have you thought about pro ball?”

“I’m just trying to get through college ball right now, honestly-”

“I found them!” Fukui’s voice rang throughout the hallway.  The thundering of footsteps broke the tranquil atmosphere of the night, and the entire team - literally - rounded the corner to stare down Oikawa and Daichi.

“You guys didn’t play by the rules!” Ikeda said.

“Whoops,” Oikawa shrugged, trading a grin with Daichi.

“Where are we, even?” Bokuto asked.

“Eh… we’ll find our way back,” Minami shrugged.  The group congregated together, trading their hiding spots (Kita hid in a box in a storage room, amazing everyone) and joking around.  When they finally returned to the locker room, they all piled into the main room and sat on the floor.  Daichi was leaning against Ushijima as Bokuto lay across both of them, excitedly showing something on his phone to Fukui and Ikeda.  Daichi’s eyes fluttered shut - just for a 2 minute power nap, he convinced himself - until a pinch on his cheek woke him up.

“No sleeping!” Kita teased, patting Daichi’s cheek.  Daichi huffed, a grin betraying his fake-annoyance, and he watched Minami read a _Volleyball Weekly_ magazine.

“Oh, the latest edition!” Tachibana had taken notice of Minami’s magazine as well, slinging his arms around Minami’s shoulders and leaning on him.  “Top high school recruits of the year, university rankings… interview with Kaneko Takashi?”

“Kaneko Takashi?” Ikeda perked up.

“You know him?” Oikawa asked.

“Yeah, I used to play with him in high school,” Ikeda made a grabbing motion with his fingers until Minami chucked the magazine at him.  He cleared his throat to read the article.  “ _Kaneko Takashi is a third year setter at Tokyo International University and has been their starting setter for 2 years.  He is well known across Tokyo for his powerful serve and left-handed attacks._ ”

“Powerful serve?” Daichi remarked, glancing at Oikawa.  Oikawa frowned slightly, peering over Ikeda’s shoulder.

“Left-handed attacks?” Kuroo added, as everyone turned to look at Ushijima.

“Now that I think about it,” Ikeda slid the magazine back over to Minami.  “He _is_ kind of like Ushijima and Oikawa combined.”

“A left-handed setter?” Bokuto quirked an eyebrow.

“They’re uncommon, but not unheard of,” Oikawa murmured.  “And you used to play with him?”  
“Yeah,” Ikeda rubbed the back of his neck.

“How did that work since you were both setters for the same team?” Kuroo asked.

“Both of us set the whole time,” Ikeda explained.  “We didn’t have a right-side spiker in our third year anyways, so we both tossed and spiked.  It was certainly… _interesting_.”

“Are you friends with him?” Bokuto questioned.

“ _Eh…_ ”

“Enemies?!”

“No,” Ikeda laughed.  “Things are weird between us, but I wouldn’t say I don’t like him.  We just… have some disagreements from the past.  I’ll put it like that.”

“We face TIU in April,” Akiyama changed the subject.  “We’ll be ready for them, though, right?”

“Yeah!” the team cheered.

“Good,” Akiyama grimaced.

Ushijima asked, “What happened last year?”

“It was a home match and we lost to them,” Oshiro explained, bitterness sharp in his tone.  “It was no one’s fault in particular… but it was quite the upset.”

“Interesting,” Oikawa mused.

“This year is gonna be so exciting!” Tachibana exclaimed.  “I can’t wait for the season to get going.”

“School is gonna be a bitch, though,” Fukui muttered.

“And we get the party bus!”

“Party bus?” Daichi snorted.

“It’s actually pretty cool,” Akiyama admitted with a grin.  “We have a big bus that we take to away matches, and we can hook up speakers and stuff.”

“I feel bad for the bus driver,” Kita chuckled, arousing a laugh in the rest of the group.

“Yes, usually it goes something like this-” Oshiro paused for effect.  “We get on, hook up the music, blast up the absolute _worst_ rap in the entire history of music, Tachibana gets too into it and hosts a concert for us, we all start dancing, then we get yelled at, we play a throwback song, and then we arrive at our destination.”

“That sounds awesome!” Bokuto and Oikawa beamed.

“And then on the way back,” continued Kita.  “We all sleep, usually.”

“ _Sleep_ ,” Minami groaned.

“Minami, you run on like 2 hours of sleep every day, this shouldn’t be a problem for you,” Tachibana rubbed Minami’s fuzzy head.

“Are those two awake 24/7?” Kuroo whispered to Daichi, who stifled a laugh.

For what seemed like eternity - but was only 6 hours-  the team conversed, joked, told stories, played games (that didn’t involve movement, like cards and ‘I-Spy’), and just enjoyed each other’s company.  It was relieving and fun, and Daichi laughed more times than he could remember in one night.  

It was definitely different, like Oikawa said; there were different people, different places, and a whole lot of different experiences, but it wasn’t at all bad.  Daichi was also grateful that he had the other ‘first years’ with him, he realized.  It was absolutely wild, but it brought a lot of fun Daichi didn’t see himself fitting into - but managed to - and made him feel more confident, taking university in stride alongside of his roommates.  He smiled to himself, thinking _I’m just really tired and emotional right now, apparently._

“It’s 7!” Tachibana screeched.

“Thank _god_ ,” Oshiro grumbled, grabbing a sweatshirt and burying his face in it.  

“I’m going to sleep like a fucking… fucking…” Ikeda trailed off mid-sentence as his eyes closed, a soft exhale following.

“I agree,” Bokuto limply raised an arm before it fell back against him, the sounds of snores beginning to fill the room.

Within a matter of minutes, everyone except Daichi was asleep.  He grinned before closing his eyes, resting his head on a backpack, and slept like a log for 4 hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! sorry again for the wait.  
> also, we are working with the title and one that we have up for debate is "Adventure of a Lifetime" (yes, based off of Coldplay's song, hehe). if you guys like it, let us know!
> 
> thank you all, lots of love.
> 
> tumblrs:  
> [haikyuuliberos](haikyuuliberos.tumblr.com)  
> [trashcan-kitty](trashcan-kitty.tumblr.com)


	16. NSFR (Not Safe For Roommates)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Family game night is no fun anymore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is there a way to... gift a work to all our readers // thank you all for the long wait! we promised we would update fast and then... a month went by. T_T We apologize for the wait but hope this chapter is suffice!
> 
> also we're sure you noticed the name change!!! so sorry if this startled you, aha, we just were done with the name being "College AU" even though it will always be known as 'college au' to us. this isn't exactly permanent, but it's a better name than what we had originally.
> 
> we would also like to give a HUGE, H U G E thanks to everyone who helped make this happen (for background info, we had someone roleplay EVERY PERSON in this chapter in a match of Cards Against Humanity, so thank you so much guys!!!!) go check out their tumblrs ya'll!  
> [ allmycharactersare-dead ](%E2%80%9Dallmycharactersare-dead.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D) ; [ rottencinnamonroll ](%E2%80%9Drottencinnamonroll.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D) ; [ birate ](%E2%80%9Dbirate.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D) ; [ kenmascorner ](%E2%80%9Dkenmascorner.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D) ; [ kurroos ](%E2%80%9Dkurroos.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D) ; [ tendou-satori ](%E2%80%9Dtendou-satori.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D) ; [ forensic-reaper ](%E2%80%9Dforensic-reaper.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D)
> 
> thank you all so much again! we had a blast and this chapter couldn't have been made without you. <3
> 
> now, onto the chapter! (which is basically just crack, bad humor, and one little surprise!) ~enjoy!

“Family game night is no fun anymore,” Bokuto threw his cards into the center of the table.  “Daichi and Kuroo always win.”

“That’s because you have to use your _brain_ ,” Kuroo smirked.

“And you don’t have one,” Oikawa muttered, a chorus of ‘oohs’ erupting from the table.

“Oikawa with the burn,” Daichi announced, grabbing all the cards and arranging them into a neat pile.

“Cards are a game of luck, and strategy is useful to overwhelm the opponent,” Ushijima sagely added.

“I’d rather arm-wrestle,” Bokuto shrugged, leaning back in his chair.

“Of course you would,” Oikawa shook his head.

“Let’s go!” Kuroo slammed his elbow on top of the table.

“ALRIGHT!”  Bokuto and Kuroo exchanged taunts as they grabbed each other’s hands, Ushijima ‘refereeing’ for them.  Daichi slid his phone out of his pocket and took a picture of the unfolding event.

 _“I guess we’re arm-wrestling’_ Daichi typed onto the screen before sending it to Suga.  The match hadn’t yet started when Daichi’s phone buzzed, and he unlocked it to reveal two snapchats from Suga.

 _‘Wow they have some nice arms.’_ Suga had a hand over his mouth as he gazed into the camera.  Rolling his eyes, Daichi tapped the screen to reveal the next message.

‘ _But you win best ass award_.’  Daichi almost choked on the air he was breathing, shoving his phone into his pocket and praying that his cheeks wouldn’t dramatically flush.  Oikawa was making a bet against Ushijima on who would win the arm-wrestling contest, and Kuroo and Bokuto were yelling nonsense.

“Go,” Ushijima let go of their hands as the Bokuto and Kuroo eaned against the table, throwing their whole weight into their brawl.  They were growling and hissing under their breath as they fought, Oikawa shouting above their sounds of struggle.  Daichi was taking a video of the whole thing, and the cheering began to increase as Bokuto gained the upper-hand, forcing Kuroo’s arm towards the table.

“No!  No!” Kuroo shrieked, attempting to fight against the force.  Unfortunately, Bokuto tapped Kuroo’s arm against the table before leaping back, sending his chair flying across the room, and screamed.

“Bokuto is the winner,” Ushijima declared.

“Dammit!” Oikawa grabbed some yen out of his pocket and chucked it at Ushijima, who dodged it as the currency fell onto the floor.

“Don’t ruin the floor!” Daichi scolded, looking disapprovingly as the coins bounced against the wooden flooring.

“Seriously, though,” Oikawa sighed, leaning on his elbow.  “Family game night is getting boring.  We need to spice it up.”

“How?” Kuroo asked, still disappointed about his defeat.

“By playing some different games!” Bokuto suggested.

“Not MarioKart,” Ushijima murmured, frowning slightly.

“That’s because you were holding the controller sideways for half the time,” Oikawa giggled, earning a slap on the arm.

“Monopoly?” Kuroo raised his eyebrows.

“Guys, we still have to _live_ with each other,” Daichi shut the idea down.  He could already see it: Bokuto and Oikawa screaming the entire time, Kuroo flipping the board, Ushijima somehow stock-piling cash and properties… it would be a disaster.

“Good point.”

“We could invite some friends?” everyone’s heads whipped around to Ushijima.

Daichi nodded his head in agreement, “That’s a good idea.”

“Yeah!” Bokuto clapped his hands.  “I could invite Akaashi!”

“And Kenma!”

“Iwa-chan is coming, of course,” Oikawa added.

“And Asahi can get a ride from Hajime, hopefully?” Daichi turned to Oikawa, who was glaring at him because of the use of ‘Hajime.’

“ _Fine_.”

“We’re _friends_!”

“He’s my boyfriend!”

“You call him ‘Iwa-chan!’” Kuroo interjected.

“Fuc- shut up!”

“Nice save,” Bokuto applauded.

“Wait, Ushiwaka,” Kuroo turned to him.  “Who are you going to invite?”  
“I can invite Tendou.”

“TENDOU?!” Bokuto and Kuroo shouted.

“...yes?”

“I love him!” Bokuto shouted.

“Jesus, could you guys be louder?” Daichi mumbled.

“He’s hilarious!” Kuroo laughed.

“He does have a good sense of humor,” Ushijima smiled slightly.  “So when are we doing this?”

“Saturday night?” Daichi looked around at the other four, who were nodding their heads.  “It’s a date.”

A sly grin made its way onto Bokuto’s lips, “An org-”

“Shut the _fuck_ up,” Oikawa slapped Bokuto before he could continue, and Bokuto countered by tackling Oikawa as the two spewed curses at each other.

“If we can actually act like civilized human beings,” Daichi closed his eyes for a second.  “We can text our friends and let them know.”

“Okay!” Oikawa and Bokuto popped up from the floor.

“Hoorah,” Kuroo waved his hands in the air.

“This…” Ushijima tilted his head towards Daichi.  “Will be interesting.”

 

***

“I’m so excited!” Oikawa squealed like a child in a toy store, hopping around the room.

“Sit your ass down!” Kuroo grabbed the setter and lifted him in the air, before slamming him down onto a chair.

“You just broke my butt!”

“There’s no bones in your butt!  And besides, we all know Iwaizumi’s done worse.”

“Hush!” Daichi shouted over the two.  “We’re already going to be making a lot of noise later.”

“Are we now?” Kuroo and Oikawa asked in unison, wearing devilish grins on their faces.

“Why, oh _why_ , did I let you two room with me?” Daichi questioned, only half-joking.

“I got the snacks!” Bokuto and Ushijima burst through the door, a few bags in their grip.  Bokuto was carrying one bag while Ushijima had 4.

“You couldn’t help him out more?” Oikawa remarked.  Bokuto turned and studied Ushijima, who merely blinked.

“Whoops.”

“How much did you guys _get_?” Daichi nearly gasped.

“Daichi, there’s going to be 1, 2, 3, 5... 10 of us,” Bokuto explained.  “We’re going to eat a lot.”

“Okay,” Daichi shooed them away.  “Just put it on the counter or something.”

“Alri-” A knock interrupted the group as everyone turned their heads towards the door.

“Iwa-chan!” Oikawa sung, sprinting towards the door.  “Is that you?!”  He opened the door, ready to pounce, until he realized who was standing there.

“No,” Akaashi blinked.  “But hello, Oikawa-san.”

“Akaashi!  Kenma!” Oikawa stepped aside, allowing the two high-schoolers into the apartment.

“Hello,” Kenma nodded slightly, before walking over towards the wall.

“Kenma!” Kuroo beamed, walking over towards Kenma.  Daichi looked away from the two as they hugged, but all he saw was Bokuto squeezing Akaashi and blabbering on about something.

“When will the rest get here, do you think?” Oikawa asked.

“Soon, hopefully,” Daichi sighed.  “Hmm… I haven’t seen Asahi in a while…”  The two had been so busy, between their classes and with Daichi’s volleyball, that they hadn’t been able to meet since October.

“Kenma, how’s the last bit of your third year treating you?” Kuroo asked, his arm wrapped around Kenma’s shoulder.

“Alright,” Kenma sighed.  “It’s a lot of school work, but I’m not surprised by it.”

“You’re smart, though,” Daichi offered a light smile, to which Kenma responded with the same gesture.  Before anyone opened their mouths, a knock sounded from the door.

“It’s Iwa-chan _this_ time!” Oikawa assured everyone, sprinting towards the door faster than Daichi had ever seen him run at practice.  Daichi thought the door would be ripped from its hinges because it was opened so forcefully, and Oikawa leapt into the air.

“Fucking-” Iwaizumi’s voice cried out as he stumbled into the apartment.  Asahi took a second to follow, pure shock written all over his face.

“What a dramatic entrance!” Bokuto cackled.

“Yeah,” Iwaizumi replied, dropping Oikawa on the ground.

“Iwa-chan,” Oikawa grumbled, standing back up quickly.  The two embraced for a few seconds, beginning to laugh and smile.

“He calls Iwaizumi-san ‘Iwa-chan?’” Kenma asked.

“Unfortunately,” Kuroo and Iwaizumi responded, before they traded a glance.

“Akaashi calls me Bokuto-san!” Bokuto proudly said, jabbing his thumb into his chest.  A warm blush covered Akaashi’s cheeks.

“Oh, hey guys,” Iwaizumi’s pout vanished from his face as he flashed a smile at the two high-schoolers.

“Hello,” the two responded.  The group began talking, and Daichi was relieved at how well everyone was getting along.  Akaashi and Kenma, who were pretty soft-spoken _and_ younger than everyone, were warming up to the group pretty well.

“Hey, Daichi.”  Asahi wandered over to Daichi, a grin on his face.

“Asahi!” Daichi beamed, hugging him.  “God, you need to cut your hair.”

“I like it long!” Asahi self-consciously ran a hand through his hair.

“There’s a difference between _long_ and _it-needs-a-trim_.”

“You’ve never had long hair, you wouldn’t know the difference!”

“I think-”

“Wow, I’ve never seen Dai-chan banter so much with someone,” Oikawa interrupted them.

Bokuto’s voice sliced through the group.  “Now we’re just waiting on-”

“I’m here!” a muffled voice sounded from the hallway.

“Oh,” Ushijima walked over to the door and opened it, being met with Tendou’s tight embrace.

“Wakkun!” Tendou’s voice was filled with glee as his arms wrapped around Ushijima’s torso.  Tendou pecked Ushijima on the cheek, to which Ushijima smiled and returned the affection.

“What the _fuck_?!” Kuroo, Bokuto, and Oikawa cried in unison.  Even Daichi’s jaw was nearly on the floor.  Ushijima stood, straight-faced, as Tendou looked at them with surprise he didn’t attempt to hide.

“You’re… you two…” Bokuto weakly raised a hand and pointed at the two.

“Together?!” Kuroo sputtered.

“Yes…?” Tendou puckered his lips.

“Wait, you two are dating?” Daichi shook his head after recovering.

“Yes,” Ushijima nodded his head.

“A year and a half!” Tendou beamed, tightly hugging Ushijima.

“Congratulations,” Oikawa wheezed.

“Thanks!” Tendou unwrapped himself from his boyfriend’s shoulders and walked towards the table, holding a box.

“So…” Daichi trailed off, still surprised about Ushijima and his relationship.

“Why wouldn’t you tell us?!” Bokuto shrieked.

“I don’t know…” Ushijima furrowed his eyebrows together.  “It’s just a more private aspect of my life, and I didn’t feel the need to talk about it very much.”

“Unlike some people,” Kuroo laughed, pointedly looking at Oikawa.

“Hey!” Oikawa pouted, while Iwaizumi sniggered.

“When did you guys see each other?!” Bokuto demanded.  “You never had Tendou over… and…”

“We meet up a few times a month,” Ushijima explained.  “We would go out to eat, to the movies… regular date stuff, I guess.”

“Yeah, because my roommates are awful,” Tendou snorted.  “There was no way we were going to hang at my place.”

“Living with us isn’t exactly easy to deal with all the time either,” Daichi agreed.

“You think we’re awful?” Bokuto asked, disheartened.

“I can see how it would get tiring,” Akaashi said, followed by the laughter of the group.

“I’m just… _wow_ ,” Oikawa sat down.  “In _shock_.”

“Well, as interesting as it is to see Ushijima with his boyfriend, let’s start with some games?” Daichi suggested.

“I’m down,” Iwaizumi commented.  More murmurs of agreement floated through the room as everyone chose seats around the dining room table and sat down.  Everyone was next to the person they invited, and then Kuroo and Bokuto were sitting next to each other (which was probably a bad idea).

“So, what are we going to play?” Daichi surveyed.  “We have playing cards, Clue, Scrabble…”

“I brought Cards Against Humanity!” Tendou raised the box above his head before slamming it on the table.

“Cards Against Humanity!” Kuroo and Bokuto yelped, both grabbing the box and fighting over it.

“What’s that?” Akaashi asked.

“Have you played Apples to Apples?” Tendou responded, and Akaashi nodded his head.  “It’s like that… but _dirtier_.”

“Oh, god,” Daichi rested his chin on his hands.

“It’ll be fun!” Tendou assured them, before freezing.  “If everyone wants to play.”

“Yes!” Bokuto, Kuroo, and Oikawa screamed.  The rest shrugged and nodded their heads, so Tendou took the cards out and began divvying them up.  Daichi looked at the cards in his hand and he nearly choked at the sight of some of the cards.   _A snapping turtle biting the tip of your penis_ , _being a dick to children,_ and _white privileges_ were just a few of the interesting cards in his hand.

“Oh, wow,” Kenma said, shuffling through his cards.

“Jesus christ!” Iwaizumi sounded just as shocked as Daichi; Tendou began cackling madly.

“Yup,” he grinned.  “Okay, I’ll judge first, and then we’ll just go around clockwise.  So the card you guys are trying to play to is… ‘ _What is something you would never want to find in the school cafeteria?_ ’”  The sound of shifting cards filled the room as everyone decided what they would turn in.  Daichi chose a card fairly quickly and slid it across the table towards Tendou.  The rest of the group finished, Oikawa being last, and Tendou began reading the cards.

“ _Something I would never want to find in the school cafeteria_ ,” the redhead began.  “Is ‘ _nipple blades_ ’.”  Laughter filled the room, and it took everyone a moment before they calmed down.  “‘ _My brother’s shit_ ’.  I don’t have a brother!  Continuing… ‘ _Dominos Oreo Dessert Pizza_ ’... _’Medusa’s Snake Pubes’_ … oh my god, _this_ next one is the winner.  ‘ _Something I would never want to find in the school cafeteria’ is soup that is too hot_.”  Kuroo and Bokuto tipped back in their seats, thunderous laughter coming from their mouths, as Tendou whipped his head around, trying to find the player.  “Who put that one?!”

“Me.”  The slightest hint of a smirk played on Kenma’s lips as he raised his hand.  Kuroo began laughing even harder, and Akaashi pat Kenma’s shoulder.

“Wow, Kenma taking the first,” Oikawa said.

“Okay, Daichi, you’re the next judge,” Tendou grabbed a black card and handed it to Daichi.

Clearing his throat, Daichi read the card aloud.  “Are you kidding me?”  He slapped the card back down, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

“What is it?” Iwaizumi pressed, on the edge of his seat.

Daichi pursed his lips, trying not to laugh, “‘ _I work my ass off all day for this family_ ’-”  He couldn’t continue because he and the rest of his roommates began laughing at an incredible volume.  Oikawa began choking on a potato chip, and crumbs flew out of his mouth, as Bokuto and Kuroo were grabbing at each other and fell out of their chairs.  Ushijima was laughing quite loudly as well, and Daichi couldn’t stop chuckling.

“I think I’m missing something,” Tendou dryly said.

“It’s just… that…” Daichi attempted to explain, but couldn’t stop laughing and threw his head back.

“Once a dad, always a dad,” Asahi sighed, to which Daichi doubled over and slapped his knee.

“Oh, the team dad,” Kenma realized.

“I’m not surprised that Daichi-san is the ‘dad’ of the group,” Akaashi added.

“Me neither,” Iwaizumi grinned.

“Alright,” Daichi finally regained his composure, along with the rest of the roommates.  He continued on, a little bit of laughter interrupting him, though.  “ _‘I work my ass off all day for this family, and this is what I come home to?!”_

“Oh my,” Oikawa’s tongue was sticking out of his mouth as sorted through his cards.  Iwaizumi and Akaashi slid their cards over while Bokuto, Kuroo, and Tendou slapped theirs down.  The rest of the group finished and Daichi picked them all up.

“Okay…” he looked through them.  “ _‘I work my ass off all day for this family, and this is what I come home to?!  ‘A kiss on the lips?!_ ’”

“That’s a good one,” Ushijima shook his head, looking around the group.

“We also have… ‘ _finding a skeleton_ ’-” Daichi was interrupted by a screech from Bokuto and Kuroo.  “‘ _The Great Depression’, ‘coat hanger abortions’, ‘scrotum licking’, ‘the Antichrist’_ -”

“ _The antichrist?!_ ” Iwaizumi slapped the table.

“That’s the winner,” Daichi placed the cards in the discard pile.  “Who is ‘ _the Antichrist’_ ?”  Silence filled the room as everyone stared at Daichi before the room _erupted_.  It was worse than before, and even Kenma and Akaashi were laughing.  Daichi covered his face, but was still laughing.  Tendou was clutching his stomach and gasping for air, and everyone else was in a similar situation.

“Okay,” Daichi breathed in.  “Seriously, who had the card?”

“Me,” Oikawa sung, snatching the card.  “I guess I’m satan.”

“Fitting,” iwaizumi commented, failing to contain his chuckling.

“Hey!”  Oikawa crossed his arms, a pout drawn on his lips, until Iwaizumi reached over and grabbed his hand, rubbing his thumb over the setter’s knuckles.

“Okay, Asahi,” Tendou grabbed a black card and handed it to him.

“Uh…” Asahi read the card, flushing.  “‘ _Fifty Shades of blank.’_ ”

“If I don’t win this,” Bokuto immediately slid a card across the table.  “I will be pissed.”

“Then pissed you will be,” Daichi mumbled, handing his card in.

“Akaashi and Kenma, how is volleyball going for you guys?” Tendou made conversation as everyone chose their cards.

“Good,” Kenma glanced up at Tendou, sliding his card across the table.

“Yeah,” Akaashi nodded his head.  “Neither of our teams went to Nationals in the fall, but we have a decent chance at the spring tournament.”

“Decent?!” Kuroo and Bokuto squawked.

“Itachiyama is as strong as ever with Sakusa,” Kenma continued.

“Sakusa, dammit!” Bokuto slammed his fist on the table.

“Oh, I remember him,” Ushijima looked up at the group.

“And Inzarizaki is back with the Miya twins,” Akaashi frowned slightly before handing his card in.  “Mori is really helping us out at Fukurodani, though, and I’m _finally_ connecting with our other pin hitters.”

“That’s good,” Daichi and Iwaizumi said in unison, before facing each other and laughing.

“All the cards turned in?” Asahi asked politely, scooping them up from the table.  Everyone nodded in response, and he began to read them aloud.  “ _Fifty Shades of ‘Tripping Balls’...’free samples’...’grandma’_.”

“Oh god,” Kuroo cringed.

“What else… oh my god,” Asahi placed the cards down gently and looked at Daichi.  “ _Fifty Shades of ‘what Jesus would do’_?  Really, Daichi?”

“Yes, really,” Daichi laughed.  “How’d you know it was me?”

“How would I _not_ know?” Asahi shook his head, placing the card down in front of him.

“ _What Jesus would do_?” Tendou raised an eyebrow.

“Asahi used to dress up as Jesus during Christmas,” Daichi told him.  “So we sometimes make fun of him for it.”

“Ah,” the group murmured.  The group continued through a few more rounds, joking and conversing back and forth.  It was hilarious, with some of the cards they would play and the surprising (or not surprising) winners of the rounds.  
“ _What helps Obama unwind?_ ” Kuroo read aloud.  
“Who’s Obama?” Bokuto asked.

“The former president of the U.S,” Daichi responded, sliding a card across the table.  The rest of the players handed their cards in as well, to which Kuroo picked them up and shuffled them.

“ _What helps Obama unwind?  ‘Pictures of boobs’_ ,” Kuroo scoffed, a chorus of laughter bursting through the room.  “‘ _Panty raids’… ‘not wearing pants_ ’…”

“What’s up with the theme of pants - er, lack thereof?” Asahi asked, causing everyone to laugh even more.

“Oh, this is the winner,” Kuroo cleared his throat.  “‘ _Firing a rifle into the air while balls deep in a squealing hog’_.”  Tendou almost choked, lurching forward as his hyena-like laughter filled the room.  Nobody raised their hand, though, and the group looked around.  Their eyes rested on Akaashi, who’s eyes were wide and his cheeks flushed.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, grabbing the black card.

“Awa-kawshi!” Bokuto yelped.

“Doesn’t that help unwind everyone?” Ushijima flatly commented.  Within seconds, everyone was laughing.

“Did you just crack a joke?!” Kuroo gasped.

“I believe so,” Daichi laughed.

“Okay,” Oikawa announced, grabbing a black card.  “ _Money can’t buy me love, but it can buy me ‘blank’_ .”  The players submitted their cards with astonishing speed, and Oikawa picked up the stack.  “ _Money can’t buy me love, but it can buy ‘Mom’s new boyfriend’_ .  Nice.  It can buy me a ‘ _tiny horse’_ -”

“Hmm.. a tiny horse,” Kenma snorted, leaning on Kuroo.

“Oh, this one.  It can buy me… ‘’ _dem titties’_!” Oikawa flipped the card so it faced everyone.  Tendou hollered and snatched the black card from the setter triumphantly.

“That round wasn’t too bad, but some cards are…”  Daichi trailed off.  “I feel like some of these cards should probably be illegal.”

“Oh, not probably,” Iwaizumi shook his head.  “Definitely.”

“Agreed,” Akaashi said.

Ushijima tilted his head to the side.  “I don’t mean to be rude, but you were the one that played a card about being ‘balls-deep’ in an innocent swine.”

“Why do you say it like that?” Oikawa slammed his elbow on the table.

“You’re not being rude,” Akaashi assured Ushijima.

“Oh, god,” Iwaizumi sighed, looking at the black card in his hand.  “ _What’s making things awkward in the sauna?_ ”

“I have the _perfect_ card,” Bokuto grinned maliciously.

“Oh my,” Kenma slid a card across the table, and Iwaizumi gathered up the pile.  He scanned them all quickly before Daichi noticed his eyes had stopped and widened dramatically.

“This is the worst card I’ve ever seen, so I have to choose it,” Iwaizumi said.  “ _What’s making things awkward in the sauna?  ‘Unsheathing my massive horse cock_ ’.”  The group’s jaws dropped, and Asahi looked like he was just about to die.  Ushijima, with a straight-face, grabbed the black card and set it down in front of him.

“Ushiwaka,” Oikawa swallowed.  “What the actual _fuck_.”

“Wakatoshi!” Tendou furrowed his eyebrows.

“Um,” Asahi sputtered.

“And I have to share a room with him,” Daichi rubbed his temple.  “Kuroo, I’ll sleep on the couch if you trade with me.”

“No thank you.”

“I intend to win,” Ushijima said.

“But that’s weird as _hell_ ,” Iwaizumi said.  Kenma and Akaashi traded glances before nodding their heads in agreement.  The game continued some more, not quite as weird as before, until Kuroo won a particular play: ‘ _Listen, son.  If you get involved with ____, I won’t stop you.  Just steer clear of ____.’_  He played _‘Masturbation’_ and _‘Peeing into a girls butt to make a baby’ respectively._

“Kuroo, you’re a filthy sinner,” Bokuto clucked.

“What can I say?”

Kenma sighed, “I agree.”

“Why did we agree to play this in the first place?” Daichi rhetorically asked, looking at the erotic cards in his hand.

“Satori suggested it,” Ushijima said.

“I’m glad I won,” Kuroo changed the subject.  “That was my first win!  The comedic master has finally been recognized!”

“Master your hair first, then comedy,” Iwaizumi snickered.  Bokuto was laughing so hard his chair tipped backwards and he fell onto the floor, still dying of hilarity even as Akaashi attempted to make sure he was okay.  Oikawa was screaming ‘Oooh’ at the top of his lungs, and even Daichi was laughing.

“You need some ice for that burn!” Tendou screeched.

Akaashi sighed, “Dear-”

“- Christ,” Kenma finished.

“I’m gonna’ pop your fucking arms,” Kuroo retorted, gesturing to Iwaizumi’s biceps.

“Unfortunately, they’re real,” Iwaizumi shook his head.

“Now that ‘Roast Kuroo’ is over,” Kuroo rolled his eyes and picked up a black card.  “‘ _My new favorite pornstar is Joey ‘blank’ McGee_.”

“I’m ashamed of my card,” Akaashi said, sliding his card across the table.  
“I’m proud of mine,” Tendou replied.  Daichi, who’s card wasn’t _too_ ridiculous, handed Kuroo his card as the bedhead began to read them aloud.

“ _Joey ‘Doo-doo’ McGee_.  Nice one, Bokuto.”

“How do you know that it might be me?!”

“That’s something you would play,” Kuroo chuckled.   _“Joey ‘Spectacular Abs’ McGee.’_ ”

“So… me?” OIkawa offered a smile.

“Oh, god,” Kuroo said.  “ _Joey ‘No clothes on, penis in vagina’ McGee._  Winner, winner!”

“...There we go,” Akaashi mumbled, grabbing the black card while Tendou threw his arms in the air.

“Dammit!”

“Okay,” Kenma picked up the next black card.  “ _What would grandma find disturbing… yet oddly charming?_ ”  “Oh, god.”

“My card should be burned,” Daichi said, handing Kenma his card.  Daichi was the last person, so Kenma began reading the cards aloud, his tone laced with disappointment.

“ _Something grandma would find disturbing yet oddly charming is… ‘ejaculating live bees and the bees are angry.’_ ”

“That is horrifying,” Asahi said.

“‘ _The Care Bear Stare_ ,’” Kenma paused.  “‘ _A cooler full of organs.’_ ”

“These are… oddly specific,” Iwaizumi frowned slightly.

“ _Cooler of organs_ it is,” Kenma shook his head.

“Ugh,” everyone cringed.

“The rest are just as bad, so I might as well stop before it gets worse.”

“I’m sorry,” Daichi mumbled, grabbing the black card.

Ushijima shifted in his chair before reading the next black card aloud as the players sorted through their own cards to choose.

“My cards suck,” Iwaizumi grunted.

“That’s because you do,” Kuroo replied smoothly, apparently not over the insults about his hair.

“He’s good at it too.” Oikawa shot off before Kuroo could be praised for his half assed insult.

“ _Ooh_!” Bokuto slammed his hand down on the table.

“Wow,” Daichi drawled sarcastically.  “Absolutely _roasted_ .”  
“At least my hair doesn’t look like it’s at war with my face,” Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, and everyone stopped looking at their cards to watch the event unfold.

“It’s going _down_ ,” Tendou leaned forward in his seat.

“It’s called _abstract_!”

“It’s called ‘a fucking mess!’”

“ _You’re_ a fucking mess!” Everyone’s heads whipped back and forth between Kuroo and Iwaizumi as their banter escalated.  “ _Kenma_!”

“He’s kind of right,” Akaashi said quietly.

“It’s true,” Kenma pursed his lips.

“I thought you loved me!” Kuroo pouted.

“I have a feeling Kenma isn’t going to protect you,” Iwaizumi said.

“Well…”

“You can’t protect him from his own hairstyle,” Oikawa clucked.

“It’s not at war with me!” Kuroo self-consciously ran a hand through his messy locks.

“I _could_ get a razor,” Kenma offered.

Kuroo turned and stared at Kenma with a sort of fear Daichi had never seen.  “This hair may be a pain in the ass, but it’s _my_ pain in the ass.”

The game resumed, and one of the cards played (that didn’t win) talked about _‘gloryholes_.’

“Why not _gloryholes_?” Ushijima sighed, leaning back in his chair.

“There are a few reasons,” Asahi responded.

“Ushiwaka-chan,” Oikawa shook his head.  “No.”

“Tendou, how do you do it?” Iwaizumi asked.

“Anyways,” Tendou slowly said.  “Why _wouldn’t_ someone date Wakatoshi?”

“I can name a few reasons,” Oikawa and Iwaizumi said immediately in unison, before turning to look at each other.

“There are _zero_ reasons.”

“At least Trashykawa has decent hair,” Iwaizumi gave Kuroo a pointed look.

“That’s true,” Kenma looked at Oikawa as the other setter began to run his hands through his hair.

“Goddammit, how much longer is this harassment going to last?” Kuroo groaned.

“Kuro has a nice personality,” Kenma said.

“Okay, even Ushijima has personality,” Iwaizumi countered.

Kuroo folded his arms across his chest.  “I’m _tall, tan,_ and _handsome_.”

“You know who else is tall, tan, and handsome?” Tendou flared his nostrils as he gripped Ushijima’s bicep.

“Why do you drag me into this?” Ushijima asked.

“Because, we like dragging you,” Bokuto said.

“In the end, everyone’s fighting for second place,” Ushijima smiled and grabbed Tendou’s hand.

“Aww, Wakatoshi!  I have the _best_ boyfriend!”

“Even Suga and I aren’t this sappy,” Daichi commented.

“Ew,” Oikawa gagged.

“I’m getting cavities,” Kuroo coughed.

“Hey,” Daichi comforted Kuroo.  “At least your bad teeth will match your bad hair.”

“Fuck yo-”

“Wait, who played this card?” Tendou interrupted the group.  “‘ _Goats eating coins_ ’?  Winner!”

“I’m confused,” Asahi said, to which Kenma nodded in agreement.

“It means a goat is eating coins,” Daichi deadpanned, playfully elbowing Asahi.

“Tendou has a farm kink, confirmed,” Bokuto raised his chin.

“I _am_ dating a farmer,” Tendou nodded towards Ushijima.

“Why do I always get called a farmer?” Ushijima sighed.  “Oikawa calls me that all the time.”

“Oh, shit,” Kuroo frowned.  “Why am I losing?!”

“Maybe your hair is messing with your vision, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi mused, to which everyone began roaring with laughter.

“Why is everyone bullying my hair?!” Kuroo whined.

“Because it’s a crime against nature,” Iwaizumi responded easily.

Kuroo grumbled, “Like your hair is any better.”

“I like his hair,” Oikawa interrupted.  “Tetsu-chan, your hair looks bad because you won’t let me fix it!”

“Oikawa, you’re coming nowhere _near_ my hair,” Kuroo raised his fists.

“I won’t let him-” Iwaizumi said.

Kuroo grinned, “We finally agree on something.”

“-because bad hair might be contagious.”

“ _Excuse me_?!”

“Kuro, a trim would help,” Kenma admitted, but he only received a glare.

“Kenma, when you cut your hair, I’ll cut mine.”

“I got a trim the other week.”

“ _Shit_.”

“Nothing can ruin my hair,” Oikawa boasted, patting his wavy locks.

“How about a pigeon shitting on it,” Tendou cackled, while Oikawa began bickering with the redhead.

“While we’re at it, can we take a vote whether or not Asahi should cut his hair?” Daichi slowly turned his head to face Asahi, who looked annoyed.

“I _like_ my hair longer!”

“ _Thank_ you!” Kuroo flung his arms in the air as he and Asahi began discussing hair length more in-depth.

“I’m losing,” Ushijima looked at the cards in his hand.

“Tragic,” Oikawa pretended to pout with fake concern.

“At least you’re doing well, Satori.”

“Ushiwaka being sappy is weird,” Bokuto tilted his head.

“We are very close,” Ushijima carefully worded.  “Intimate could be used to describe it?”

“Wakatoshi is the cutest,” Tendou bragged, leaning against his boyfriend.

“Let me stop you right there,” Daichi raised a hand.

“Ew,” Oikawa dryly said.  “Anyways… I guess this card wins.”  He flipped a white card up, as he was the judge.

“Yes,” Ushijima grabbed the black card.

“Miiiiracle boy, Wakatoshi!” Tendou announced at an extreme volume.

“Wait no nononono I take it back.” Oikawa shook his head as he tried to take the card back.

“I’m surprised the blunt card didn’t win,” Kenma glanced up, referencing a card that said ‘ _hitting the blunt too hard_.’

“I was so close,” Asahi shook his head.  “Could’ve had two in a row.”

“Daichi, control your stoner friend,” Kuroo snickered.  Asahi immediately sputtered a defense for himself, before the group began laughing and he calmed down.

“Ugh,” Iwaizumi pulled his lips to the side.  “I just want to beat Ushiwaka and Kuroo.”

“Good luck with that,” Kuroo sassed.

“Of course I’m judging this round.   **“** **_‘_ ** _There are only a few things I can’t live without. Food, oxygen and ‘blank_ ’.’”

“Iwa-chan, this one’s for you,” Oikawa declared, placing the card on the table of Iwaizumi to pick up.  The rest of the players turned in their cards and Iwaizumi shuffled them before picking the first one up and reading it.

“ _My sex life._ ”

Oikawa glanced over at Iwaizumi and winked.  Begrudgingly, Iwaizumi slid the black card over to Oikawa.

“boyfriends can do telekinesis,” Bokuto retorted.

“Telekinesis?” Daichi furrowed his eyebrows.

“Where you can talk through each other’s heads!”

“Bokuto-san, that’s telepathy.”

 _“Oh._ ”

“Wait, what are we playing to?” Asahi questioned.

“8,” Tendou said.

“Guess who has 7?!” Kuroo whooped.

“Damn!” Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and Bokuto all yelled in unison.

“Okay,” Daichi, who was judging, cleared his throat.  “ _What did I bring back from Mexico?_ ”

“Oh, boy,” Kenma said.

Iwaizumi slid his card across the table.  “It’s official.  We’re all going to hell after this.”

“I agree,” Akaashi remarked.

“Definitely,” Tendou smirked as he handed Daichi his card.  The cards were all in, and he began reading them aloud.

“ _What did I bring back from Mexico?  ‘A micropenis_ ’.”  Cackling filled the room as he continued.  “‘ _Racism.’  ‘A big, black dick.’  ‘Dying of dysentery.’_ ”

“Uhh...,” Oikawa made a face.

“ _‘Goblins.’  ‘An M16 Assault Rifle.’  ‘Injecting speed into one arm and horse tranquilizer in the other.’  ‘My sex dungeon.’  ‘My first kill.’_ ”

“How violent,” Kuroo said.

“And, last but not least, _‘a middle aged man on roller skates.’_ ”  Daichi scanned the cards carefully.  “I’m going to choose _dysentery_.”

“Winner-winner, chicken dinner!” Kuroo jumped out of his chair, startling Asahi and some of the others as he swiped the black card in front of him.  He continued to hop around, hollering about his victory, while the rest of the players began to clean up the cards and put them back in the box.

“Whew, look at the time!” Tendou glanced at the clock.  “I gotta’ get back so I can get some of Makki’s ramen.  He makes a _mean_ ramen.”

“Makki?” Oikawa leapt up.  “As in Hanamaki Takahiro?”

“Um, yeah?”

“He’s your _roommate_?!” Oikawa shrieked.

“Yeah!  Me, Semi, Makki, and Mattsun all live together!” Tendou exclaimed, while Oikawa’s jaw was nearly on the floor.

“You didn’t know that?” Iwaizumi asked.

“...no.”

“Kenma and I are going to head out,” Akaashi said.  “But thank you for everything.”

“Yes, thank you,” Kenma nodded his head.

“So soon?” Bokuto complained, embracing Akaashi tightly and kissing him.  The rest of the couples continued in a similar fashion, leaving Asahi and Daichi standing there.

“So, what now?  We kiss?” Asahi joked.

“Definitely,” Daichi laughed, the two of them hugging.  “It was good to see you.  We’ll be sure to hang again soon.”

“Yeah,” Asahi beamed.  “Iwaizumi, you ready?”

“Almost,” Iwaizumi replied, Oikawa’s arms wrapped around him way-too-tightly as he yelled loudly.

“Iwa-chan, don’t go!”

“I know,”  Iwaizumi gave Oikawa a kiss and whispered to him before walking away with Asahi.  Kenma and Akaashi left soon after, and Tendou left last after he and Ushijima said their goodbyes.  And notably kissed.

“I still can’t believe it,” Kuroo shook his head.  “You and Tendou?   _Dating_?!”

“What’s so surprising?” Ushijima inquired.

“Just…”

“You,” Oikawa interrupted.

“And dating!” Bokuto added.

“Guys, be happy for him,” Daichi defended.

“We are, we are,” Kuroo sighed.

Bokuto jumped in the air.  “Yeah, especially since he brings hilarious games!”

“We’re going to have to do that again,” Oikawa suggested.

_“Oh, god.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all again for support, love, and patience! your comments make our days honestly (so please, comment. even if it's just like one word, we really appreciate it. <3)
> 
> have an awesome day, we hope we made you smile!


	17. Sugar, We're Going Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't mind!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh me oh my has it been a while... we are very sorry for the amount of time that's gone by, we had some rewriting / planning to do on top of our regular lives. thank you all for the patience and the wait! honestly, sorry sounds so insufficient, forgive us ;-; 
> 
> heavy OC mention in this chap, just a heads up, so you can check out  this page  with Ev's fantastic artwork of the OC's! They are almost all completed except for 4, and 2 of them are new in this chapter ;) They will come out with the next chapter release (which HOPEFULLY could be out by the end of the month?).
> 
> thank you all again for your love and support, your comments are highly appreciated :)) love you all lots and we hope you enjoy!
> 
> \--chapter title went something sort of like this:  
> jilly: we need a chapter name  
> ev: shit  
> jilly: 'the final countdown?'  
> ev: i was thinking about song names too  
> ev: 'sugar we're going down' because i'm emo trash  
> jilly: YES

“What’s taking so long?” Bokuto whined, nudging Daichi.

“We’re trying to get off the bus,” Daichi said.  “And we all have big bags and stuff, so it’ll take a moment.”  With a resigned huff, Bokuto became silent as they waddled off the bus and started walking toward the locker room of the stadium.

"This place is almost as big as ours,” Kuroo remarked, stepping inside.

“It’s actually bigger,” Kita said.  “It has more seats inside, if we’re being technical.”

“No way!”

Daichi began unpacking his bags, blocking out the rest of his team as he tried to calm his nerves.  They were about to play one of the biggest matches of their season, against their hardcore rival TIU - a team full of talent; Iwaizumi and Yaku were both starting as first years, and they also had Ikeda’s personal rival, Kaneko Takashi.

“Earth to Sawamura,” Akiyama pat Daichi’s head.  “We’re heading out for warm-ups in a few minutes.”

“Oh, okay,” Daichi nodded his head and slipped his shoes on.  The locker room started to clear out, and he took a few more deep breaths to calm himself.  It wouldn’t have been as bad, really, to just sit on the sides for this match: he and Kita did that anyways, switching their libero jersey every other match, and it was a convenient arrangement.  However, Hayashi had told Daichi he would be the starting libero against TIU, which came as a real shock considering TIU was ranked higher than UT, and he expected Kita to take the jersey for this match.  Both teams would be defending the title of being undefeated throughout the season, which was incredibly impressive, and one of them would break their streak in this match.

“Dai-chan.”  Oikawa’s voice snapped Daichi back out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see the setter leaning against a locker.  “Are you ready to go?”

“Y-yeah,” Daichi replied, straightening himself.  Just as he was about to walk past Oikawa, the setter grabbed his shoulder and prevented him from walking further.

“You’ll do fine,” Oikawa said quietly.  “Focus on doing your job to the best of your ability and everything else will work.”  Speechless, Daichi could barely nod as Oikawa slid past him.  When Daichi stepped out of the locker room, roaring immediately filled his ears and his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the massive stadium.

Fans filled the seats throughout the facility, waving signs and cheering loudly at UT.  Most of the players took it in stride, laughing and grinning, but Daichi felt a little overwhelmed, like the first match at Nationals.  Kuroo pat his shoulder, which relieved him slightly, and he focused on listening to a random conversation between Bokuto and Ikeda.

A hush rippled across the arena before the cheering returned doubly loud, and the UT players looked up to see the TIU players running out of their locker room, flooding into the gym.  Daichi caught a glimpse of black hair before he found Iwaizumi and Yaku in the mix with huge grins on their faces.  The players sprinted around the gym before beginning their warm-up routine, and Akiyama waved them onto their half of the court.  Kita and Daichi passed the ball back and forth as the rest of the players warmed up, and Daichi kept finding himself glancing around at the others.

“You excited?” Kita called as the ball hit his arms.

“Yeah,” Daichi replied.  “A little nervous, but that’s to be expected.”

“You’ll do fine,” Kita assured, flashing his trademark grin.  A referee whistle interrupted them and signaled the beginning for their official warm-ups, and UT had the court first.  Daichi watched in awe as their hitters slammed the ball onto the other side of the court and they all cheered each other on.  Oikawa and Ikeda switched out tossing to the hitters as Kita and Daichi passed, and the warm-ups went by much quicker than Daichi expected.  Soon enough, their time was up and they were being ushered off the court as the TIU players filed on.

Daichi was taking his warm-up shirt off when Ikeda nudged him, pointing to the black-haired player from earlier, “Watch him.”  Daichi trained his eyes on TIU as he watched a player spike the ball.  He noted that their setter practically _shot_ the tosses to the spikers, but they made it work efficiently and, frankly, it would be difficult to defend a team that played at such a speed.  Daichi watched the setter jump into the air, preparing to set the ball, until he twisted mid-air and swung at the ball, spiking it into the middle of the floor.  Daichi gaped as he continued watching the setter.

“That’s Kaneko for ya’,” Akiyama sighs.  “He’s got a mean swing, too.”  Daichi watched Iwaizumi jump into the air and spike the ball, reminding him just how strong Seijou’s former ace was, and he turned to Oikawa.

“Would you look at that?” Daichi grins.

“I’m pissed off,” Oikawa snorts, half-joking.

“Do you know him?” Minami asks.

“Yeah,” Oikawa replied.  “Quite well, actually.”  He breaks off into a laugh, soon joined by Kuroo and Bokuto, while Daichi just facepalms.

“Alright,” Coach Hayashi interrupted the players and they gathered into a huddle.  “They run a fast offense, but that doesn’t mean they’re unstoppable.  It is _essential_ to get one blocker on their hitter, but if the middle has time you need to get there.  If we can serve-receive well that will also put is in a better position.  Their defense is lacking slightly since their offense is so intense, so use that to your advantage.”

“Right!” the team shouted.  The referee blew his whistle again, and both teams lined up on the baseline of the court.  An announcer began speaking, which Daichi mainly blocked out since he was watching Bokuto and Kuroo play rock-paper-scissors next to him.

“And now,” the announcer roared.  “The starting line-up for University of Tokyo!”  The crowd cheered as the players began waving, and Daichi even got his chance to wave to the crowd.  A few loud screams caught his attention, though, and he outright laughed when he saw his Karasuno friends chaotically waving posters and around and cheering.  Noya and Tanaka held neon signs up as they bellowed deeply, and the rest of them had pom-poms and face paint.

“You have a fanclub?!” Bokuto whisper-yelled to Daichi, laughing.

“I can’t believe they came all the way to Tokyo for this.”

“And now,” the announcer boomed.  “Your home team, Tokyo International University!  Starting setter, number 1, Kaneko Takashi!”  Daichi thought the stadium was loud before, but _boy,_ his eardrums nearly burst.  Cheers intermingled with girly screaming and school chants erupted as the black-haired setter waved to the crowd.  Daichi and Ushijima traded a glance before turning back to the court, watching the setter step back into line.

Of all the people on UT’s team, Kaneko locked eyes with Daichi, causing the latter to freeze for a moment.   _Why me?_  Daichi thought to himself, looking away.  When he looked back, the setter was laughing, talking to one of his teammates.  

Another person on their roster - the team’s ace, a tall gray-haired wing spiker named Shunji - was well received by the crowd as well.  However, he embraced it a bit more, waving his arms around and pumping the fans up further.  Daichi could practically _feel_ Akiyama’s annoyance from down the line, and Daichi realized they were both the 4th year aces of their teams, which would explain the tension behind them.

The crowd continued to cheer for all the players, and soon, the referee blew the whistle, signaling for the players to shake hands with one another.  In college, the practice of shaking hands was different, so they went down a line and shook hands with every single player.  Daichi smiled at Yaku and Iwaizumi, who returned the gesture; even though they were his friends, Daichi _really_ wanted to win this match.  For himself and the team.

“Alright, guys,” Akiyama cleared his throat as the team circled up.  “We just need to do our individual jobs, solidify our defense, and everything else will follow.  We can do this, and we _know_ it.  Who’s ready?!”  They all cheered and headed towards their spots on the court as the TIU and UT fans all cheered loudly.  The fan presence in the stadium was overwhelming and Daichi swallowed slightly as he looked around.

“You’ll be fine,” Kuroo assured him.  “You were kicking ass at our practice the other day.”

“Yeah,” Daichi laughed nervously, waving at him as he jogged onto the court and switched places with Fukui.

The official line-up consisted of Ikeda, Bokuto, Oshiro, Ushijima, Akiyama, Fukui, and Daichi.  They all took their positions on the court, high-fiving and joking around, and Ikeda walked back to the service line.  There was no one else on the team Daichi would rather have starting the team off serving, since Ikeda was strong and consistent, similar to Oikawa.

The referee’s whistle initiated the match, and a buzz of nervous adrenaline flowed through Daichi’s veins as he watched Ikeda throw the ball into the air and jump up, meeting it with the palm of his hand, sending it flying towards the other side.  

Yaku received the ball, and Daichi watched with a tense gaze as Kaneko tossed to Iwaizumi; it was extremely fast, and Daichi even wondered if Iwaizumi would make it.  Oshiro and Ushijima were able to set up a decent block, and Daichi watched as Iwaizumi met the ball and slammed it through their hands, hitting their hands oddly enough to send it out of bounds.  TIU cheered loudly as they huddled up, and Daichi grit his teeth.

“Let’s get this next point,” Akiyama encouraged, clapping his hands.  All of UT nodded and took their spots, and Daichi watched as Kaneko walked back to the service line.  Daichi’s fingers shook slightly from his apprehension and adrenaline, so he rested them on his knees.  Kaneko spun the ball in his hands, causing the crowd to roar, and he looked up with a smug grin when the whistle sounded.  He threw the ball in the air, and Daichi watched in a mixture of wonder and trepidation as the setter leapt into the air.  He was left-handed, so the spin would be more like Ushijima’s, but something was _different_ about his serve-

His hand had barely contacted the ball before it was flying towards Daichi at an incredible speed, hitting his arms before spinning away.   _Great_ , Daichi thought as he watched the ball fly out of bounds.   _I just got aced from the get-go_.

“Don’t mind!” his teammates said, slapping his shoulder.  Daichi faked a grin and turned back towards the net, watching Kaneko walk back to the service line again.  Just by the stinging of his arms, Daichi could tell that this setter was well developed in his offense - setting _and_ serving.  It was as if someone took the best aspects of Oikawa and Ushijima to combine them into one monstrous asset.

Kaneko served again, just as spectacularly as the first, except it was aimed for Akiyama this time.  The ace managed to receive the ball, but it forced Ikeda to set the ball right back to him.  However, this was not an issue for Akiyama as he managed to hit _over_ the block, sending the ball into the middle of the floor.  The team erupted into celebratory yells and shouts as they praised Akiyama for his kill.

“When one person struggles,” Bokuto walked up behind Daichi.  “The rest of the team picks them up, right?  I know that one _very_ well.”  His grin was contagious and Daichi found himself smiling in agreement, and the team rotated around the court.  Daichi was out for this one, as Oshiro was serving, and Fukui was on the court.

“Nice job,” his teammates offered as he high-fived them.

“Relax,” Kita said to Daichi.  “You’re on the court for a reason, so just don’t overthink it.”

“Think about _not_ thinking,” Tachibana supplied.  “It actually works.”  He made Daichi laugh, but he was quickly shooed back onto the court as Oshiro traded places with him.  The score was 3-2 the first set, but that didn’t mean anything was solidified.  

Iwaizumi was rotated to the back row, where he served the ball.  It clipped the tape but bounced up, allowing for an easier receive than Kaneko’s serve.  Daichi passed the ball to target, where Ikeda set Ushijima and they quickly ended the point in their favor.  Concern dimly wandered through the back of Daichi’s mind as he wondered how long the match would last - it was only the first set, yet both teams were siding-out equally.

Akiyama served a difficult ball, and TIU’s ace received the ball before sprinting towards the net.  Kaneko shot the ball back towards him, and the ace - Shunji? - slammed the ball past the two blockers.  It flew past their hands and Daichi dove in an attempt to keep the ball off the floor, but it hit the floor right in front of his hands.  The stadium erupted into vigorous cheers as the players circled up, and Akiyama frowned slightly.

“That bastard,” he muttered, before facing the team with a smirk.  “Let’s get a hold on them as soon as possible, alright?”  They agreed with a chorus of shouts before turning their attention back to the next server.

The set continued on in a seemingly endless tug of war.  One team would score a point, and then the other, and they continued to side out quickly.  Kaneko returned back to serve, and although he didn’t ace Daichi this time around, he threw off the receive enough that UT was forced to set the left wing spiker and the ball was blocked.  Their ace, Shunji, was giving them a lot of trouble as well; between the setter and the ace, TIU was putting UT in a tough position.  After a few more point runs on TIU’s part, Daichi found himself jogging to the other side of the court after the first set, the final score 25-20.

“Dammit,” Bokuto crossed his arms, looking back onto the court.  “They’re merciless.”

“No kidding,” Ikeda wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.  Daichi stretched his arm across his chest, looking over at TIU’s circle of players.  He saw Kaneko looking at him again, and averted his gaze, even more confused than before.  It was if Kaneko was deliberately picking on him and singling him out.

“Alright,” Coach Hayashi tapped his clipboard and stepped in the group of players.  “We know what they do now, we know how they play, and now is the time to start adjusting.  Last set was not our best playing, but this set is crucial to take.  Middle blockers, you’re going to start a little closer to their left side in order to shut down their ace as best we can, because he’s our biggest concern right now.  You guys are starting to adjust to their setter’s serve, so don’t let that overpower you either.”

“Let’s win this set, yeah?” Akiyama says, causing a chorus of cheers from the rest of the team.

The players jogged back out onto the court, and surprisingly, Daichi felt better than he did before.  Although his adrenaline was still making him jittery, he looked forward to the second set instead of anxiously awaiting it.  The TIU players followed suit and took their places on the court as well, and the second set promptly began with the referee’s whistle.

Kaneko was back to serve, to the crowd’s excitement, and a silence fell over the stadium.  He threw the ball high into the air, jumping up to meet it with his palm, and it flew across the net as the crowd roared.  Daichi braced himself for the ball as it hit his arms - this time, it went pretty close to Ikeda, who was able to set Akiyama and score a kill.  Daichi sighed in relief as the team cheered around him, shoving everyone around.  Out of the corner of his eye, Daichi watched Kaneko say something to Ikeda, to which the latter rolled his eyes and waved a hand dismissively.

A few more rotations went by, and UT had secured a one point lead over TIU.  It wasn’t much, but it was definitely a start.  Ikeda was back to serve and sent the ball over the net, where Iwaizumi solidly passed the ball to Kaneko, who jumped into the air to set the ball.  

In the blink of an eye, Kaneko twisted his body around and spiked the ball into the center of the court, right through Akiyama’s block.  Ikeda and Daichi both dove for it but missed it, and Daichi had to roll out of the way to avoid hitting Ikeda.

“This crowd’s annoying,” Bokuto remarked, glancing at the screaming fans.

“True that,” Fukui said.

“We just need to ignore it as best we can,” Ikeda added.

“Right,” Daichi said.  They rotated spots and prepared for the next serve, which quickly came over the net.  Bokuto passed the ball - it went up, but not perfectly to target - so Ikeda set Ushijima, who hit the ball towards Kaneko.  Much to the team’s displeasure, Kaneko managed to dig the ball into the middle of the court, where Yaku stepped in and set TIU’s ace.  Shunji jumped up to spike the ball, but the block slowed it down slightly and Daichi was able to receive it easier.  Ikeda tossed the ball right to Fukui, who leapt high into the air and slammed the ball into the floor.  They all went wild cheering for Fukui, who pumped his fist in the air.

“What a swing from UT’s #7!” the announcer boomed, along with the mix of the players cheering intermingled with the crowd.  They rotated around - _again_ \- and Daichi wondered how long this set would last.  He had a feeling that it could drag on longer than the first.

The points went back and forth between the two teams just as the first set, but this time, UT managed to stay in it.  They battled their points out as the rallies became longer and longer, each side waiting for the other to make an error and score the point.  Daichi could feel the sweat seeping through his jersey, and he could only imagine how the other players, mainly the spikers, felt.

However, among the spikers, Bokuto had been struggling a bit.  Ever since the beginning of the second set, he seemed to have lost some of his composure: his receives were sloppy, his spikes weren’t quite as sharp, and Daichi was beginning to worry about his mentality.

“You good?” Daichi asked Bokuto after one of the points.  The score was 22-22, and the pressure was steadily increasing.

“Yeah,” Bokuto insisted, walking away from Daichi.

“When one person struggles, the rest of the team picks them back up, right?” Daichi repeated, staring at Bokuto’s back.  He turned around, looking a little brighter than before, and nodded his head determinedly.  
Akiyama served the ball, and it was passed right to Kaneko, who set Shunji.  Daichi watched the ace fly through the air, his arm high, before he struck the ball above the blocker’s hands.  Daichi threw himself onto the floor and managed to pop the ball up, much to the crowd’s surprise (he heard Karasuno screaming in the background) and watched Ikeda toss the ball to Bokuto.  Bokuto surged forward with a bout of energy and leapt into the air, ready to spike the ball.

Before Daichi could register it, TIU’s block had sent the spike straight into the floor, and his diving body couldn’t save the ball.  Daichi grunted in frustration before pushing himself up to see Bokuto’s face.  Despite his teammate’s support, it was evident that Bokuto’s frustration was getting to him, and Daichi pat his back.  

“Sorry,” a voice said.  Daichi turned to see Kaneko staring at the two of them, shrugging despite the smug grin on his face.

“Kaneko, leave them alone,” Ikeda crisply interjected, pushing Daichi and Bokuto away.

Before they could react, the referee blew his whistle, calling for a substitution, and they watched as Tachibana was switched in for Bokuto.

“Hey everyone!” Tachibana grinned.  Daichi watched as Hayashi talked to Bokuto, and although Daichi felt bad, Tachibana was _exactly_ what they needed right now.  With his reliability and good naturedness, Tachibana wasn’t one to succumb to pressure.  “Let’s get this next point!”

Daichi couldn’t help laughing at Tachibana’s enthusiasm, and the rest of the team joined in as they repositioned themselves on the court.  TIU served the ball, which Daichi passed right to Ikeda, who boldly decided set Tachibana right off the bat.  Tachibana jumped up and slammed the ball, watching as it ricocheted off the blocker’s hands.  He let out a ‘whoop’ and spun around as UT cheered, praising him and pushing him around.  Tachibana looked back towards the net, watching Kaneko rub his finger.

“ _Sorry,_ ” Tachibana copied.  “Hmm?”  UT began chuckling at the remark, and even Kaneko cracked a grin.

“Hot-head-kun’s a little sassy,” Kaneko commented.

“What did you just call me?!”

“Your hair looks like fire, but I never expected you to actually be a hot-head!” Kaneko laughed and walked off, leaving Ushijima to pat Tachibana’s shoulder.

“Nice kill,” the lefty complimented.  It ended up being Ushijima’s turn to serve, so he jogged to the end of the court.  Daichi watched the ball sail over the net, and Yaku received it.  Kaneko jumped into the air and tipped it behind Tachibana’s head, but Daichi saw it coming and flew forward, hitting the ball backwards with his wrist.  He awkwardly rolled to get out of Tachibana’s way, but watched as Ikeda set the ball to Akiyama in the back row, who slammed the ball past the defenders.  UT began roaring loudly, jumping around the court as they looked at the scoreboard: 24-23, and they only needed one more point to win the set and shift the momentum to their advantage.

Ushijima served again, and Daichi felt his heart skip a beat as the ball hit the tape before rolling over; Iwaizumi dove and managed to pop the ball high enough for Kaneko to toss it, sending it to Shunji outside.  Daichi watched with apprehension, trying to read Shunji’s shoulders and arms and see where he was going to swing; the ball was a bit too low, and a bit too tight-

Ikeda and Fukui leapt into the air, and their hands sent the ball flying into the floor on TIU’s side.  All the UT players shouted triumphantly, above the referee’s whistle, as they hopped around madly.  They managed to block Shunji, and ended up taking the crucial second set with them.

A hand grabbed Daichi’s arm and steadied him, and Daichi’s stomach nervously tightened.  His  smile disappeared as the cheering died down, and his stomach only further twisted at the sight of Ikeda laying on the floor, holding his leg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...whoops.
> 
>  
> 
> [ haikyuuliberos tumblr ](%E2%80%9Dhaikyuuliberos.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D)  
> [ trashcan-kitty tumblr ](%E2%80%9Dtrashcan-kitty.tumblr.com%E2%80%9D)  
>  college au tag 


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